In an effort to bolster the slow release of vaccines, Santa Clara County officials on Friday called on all medical staff to receive the first dose of coronavirus vaccine and said the shots were available at county medical centers.
However, just over three weeks after receiving the first dose of vaccine, less than a third of first-stage health workers were vaccinated, according to the county. The distribution of vaccines that already require complicated storage and transportation has been made more complex by the vast network of stages, phases and levels, said on Friday, during a press conference, Dr. Sara Cody, the county’s public health officer. Overall, the initial launch was “encouraging,” she said, and the county was “delighted with the partnership of all health care systems to support vaccinations.”
As of Friday, Santa Clara County has administered about 47,000 of the approximately 110,000 doses allocated to its premiums, according to county officials, leaving more than 90,000 Phase 1A workers who have not yet received any vaccine. About 17,000 hospital workers will receive their second dose this week. For the context, approximately 26,000 residents of the county have gained at least temporary immunity by contracting the virus itself, since the first doses entered the army on December 17.
“We’re trying to get through Phase 1A as fast as we can,” Cody said. “It’s a practical effort on deck. As soon as we are confident that the people eligible for Phase 1A have made their appointment, then we will be able to move on to Phase 1B. “
In phase 1A alone, there are three separate levels. Although this week, California invited all health care providers to get vaccinated in the initial stage. Once you reach phase 1B, all front-line workers and anyone over the age of 75 will be eligible. The phases have a “significant layer of complexity,” Cody said.
Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the county’s COVID-19 test officer, said he hopes to enter the next phase of vaccinations “by the end of the month,” but that it will depend on the amount of doses received by the county.
County officials said they hope to increase vaccinations to 6,000 a day by the end of next week, but Cody said the county has no plans to open a 24/7 mass vaccination site, like others across the country. Approximately 1.6 million inoculations will be needed to reach the county’s desired herd immunity threshold – immunity for at least 85% of residents. At the current rate, it would take more than two years to achieve this goal. At a rate of 6,000 a day, it would take about nine months.
“I’m not a logistics person, but even I can appreciate how complex this is,” Cody said. Each of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines has its own “very special storage and handling” – each requires cold storage or, in Pfizer’s case, subzero – “that means the design needs to be close to the freezer,” Cody said.
Fenstersheib compared the launch of the vaccine with the commissioning of the county’s testing operation in the first months of the pandemic.
“It simply came to our notice then. It started slowly, “he said, noting that the county now performs ten times more diagnostic tests than in the spring. “I think (the vaccine distribution) is expected to start slowly and we expect it to grow … It will take time, but I think we will speed up our efforts and vaccinate everyone in less than two and a half years, that’s for sure.”
Any health care staff, including hospital staff, staff and residents of long-term care institutions, primary care nurses and dialysis centers, home and intermediate care workers, community health workers, staff public health workers, primary care clinic workers, specialty clinic workers, laboratory workers, dental clinics and pharmacy staff are all eligible to schedule their vaccine scheduling through their health care provider or county.