Santa Clara County residents 65 and older are now eligible for vaccination, county officials said Tuesday.
Residents of that age range can now schedule meetings through the county’s website for openings starting Wednesday and thereafter.
The extended eligibility follows the current state guidelines for vaccine allocation.
“Older residents and those living in skilled health care facilities continue to be the population most at risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19,” said Dr. Monika Roy, a public health assistant officer.
Since Monday, more than 160,300 people have been vaccinated in Santa Clara County by the county, private health care providers and other vaccine distributors.
The county’s health system is the largest provider of COVID-19 vaccine, county officials said. To date, it has administered almost 60,000 first doses and has a weekly capacity to provide 30,000 vaccine appointments per week.
Residents can make appointments at the mass vaccination locations located at Fairgrounds County Santa Clara, Berger Drive in San Jose and the Mountain View Community Center.
The county also vaccinates eligible people at multiple locations of the Valley Health Center, including up to 600 people a day in Gilroy, according to the county’s Public Health Department.
“As the vaccine becomes available to many of our residents, the county continues its deep commitment to equity and access for our communities most at risk of contracting COVID-19,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong, associate chief medical officer. for Santa Clara County Health System.
The county is also partnering with community clinics and has launched a pilot mobile vaccination clinic to ensure vaccine access to residents and staff of long-term care facilities.
“We are coordinating efforts with local fire departments and emergency medical providers and sending vaccinators to the field to ensure that those at highest risk can be vaccinated as soon as possible,” Roy said.
County officials say the ability to expand vaccine eligibility depends on the vaccine supply.
This week, the county received 20,125 additional doses of vaccine, which is “far fewer doses than the county’s health systems have the capacity to provide,” according to the county’s public health department.
Residents can get more information about the allocation and administration of vaccines by health care providers on the COVID-19 County Dashboard for Vaccines.
To view the latest vaccine eligibility updates or to schedule a vaccination meeting, people can visit sccfreevax.org.