Santa Clara County announced Tuesday that it is expanding eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine, with immediate effect.
All people over the age of 16 who live or work in the county are now eligible for vaccination, said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the county’s COVID-19 testing and vaccination officer. People can schedule vaccination meetings through sccfreevax.org.
The county is receiving a “significant” increase in vaccine supply from the federal government, in addition to the state allocation, Fenstersheib said.
“We now have enough vaccine to quickly achieve our goal of protecting our entire community from COVID-19,” Fenstersheib said.
Under pressure from the Bay Area congressional delegation, the federal government shipped nearly 300,000 doses to Santa Clara County. This is in addition to the approximately 70,000 doses that the county receives weekly from the state.
Due to the increase in vaccine supply, the county did not have to cancel any meetings due to the unexpected Johnson & Johnson vaccination break.
“We’ve seen that our demand has exceeded our capacity for a long time, so now we can meet that need, that demand,” Fenstersheib said.
In San Mateo County, Johnson & Johnson news was a blow. The county has already been down in vaccine supply this week.
“We don’t have the first doses this week,” said supervisor David Canepa. “We have the second dose for two days.”
The county will discontinue full use of the J&J vaccine until it is completely clear from the FDA.
“It’s a bit of a nightmare to be honest with yourself,” Canepa said. “I had, in essence, this extraordinary amount of hope.”
The break will also mean that when San Mateo County opens eligibility for everyone 16 years of age and older on Thursday, the only real change will be that more people are fighting for fewer appointments.