Santa Clara County's Health System All Booked For Vaccinations

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County’s health system is currently booked for COVID-19 vaccinations through Mar. 13 due to a low allocation of vaccines from the state, according to county officials.

In a news briefing on Friday to announce the opening of a mass vaccination site at Eastridge Mall in San Jose, county officials pleaded with the state for more vaccines, emphasizing that Santa Clara County doesn’t have the supply to meet the demand.

The county received less than its anticipated allotment of vaccines this week, according to a news release. Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the county’s COVID-19 testing and vaccine officer, said that Santa Clara County is only using half of its site capacity for vaccinations.

“It’s kind of hit and miss right now, and we’re just begging the state to provide vaccine like we said we need for this community,” Fenstersheib said. “If we had plenty of supply, we wouldn’t have any of these issues. So, it’s a critical issue that we are not getting the supply, even though the demand is as high as it is.”

The county’s health system has by far been the largest vaccine provider in the county, giving out nearly 300,000 doses as of Thursday, according to the county’s vaccine dashboard. There are currently over 51,000 appointments scheduled for next week.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week that the state would be changing its vaccine system to distribute 40 percent of doses to low-income zip codes. But none of those zip codes are in Santa Clara County. The new vaccination site is located in the zip code 95122, where over 13 percent of residents have contracted COVID-19. The county has focused on East San Jose for vaccination sites because of its high infection rate and the number of essential workers who live there.

“Governor Newsom: give us vaccines,” said San Jose council member Maya Esparza. “You’re standing in the hardest hit zip code in all of Santa Clara County."

Esparza added that of the zip codes slated for priority distribution by the state, "not one of those zip codes is in Santa Clara County, much less the city of San Jose. That means less for the zip code. We need our allocation.”

Santa Clara County has a “no wrong door” policy for vaccinations, meaning eligible residents can choose to be vaccinated through either their private health care providers or the county system. Residents can still attempt to sign up for appointments through their private providers.

“We’re doing everything we can to continue vaccinating the community,” said Dr. Rocio Luna, the deputy county executive. “We stand ready to expand appointment capacity as soon as the state provides additional vaccine supply."

Click here for more information on vaccinations in the county.