FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2021
Site will have capacity to vaccinate up to 500 community members per day and will advance the County’s efforts to increase vaccine access in the most impacted areas of the County
Santa Clara County, CA – The County of Santa Clara and Emmanuel Baptist Church (Emmanuel) announced today that the County’s Health System has opened a new, large vaccination site at Emmanuel, located at 467 North White Road in San José. Emmanuel has served as a COVID-19 testing location since Fall 2020, providing almost 40,000 tests for community members. “With this pivot to COVID-19 vaccinations, the County and Emmanuel will build on our close collaboration and partnership built over many months of testing operations,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong, Associate Chief Medical Officer for Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. “Emmanuel’s location in one of the communities hardest hit by the pandemic combined with their deep roots and strong ties with the African/African Ancestry community across Santa Clara County make them an incredible partner as the County continues to center our vaccination efforts on reaching communities most impacted by the pandemic.”
Emmanuel is in zip code 95127 in East San José where approximately 1 in 10 residents have contracted COVID-19, and the African American community countywide has experienced a disproportionate number of COVID-19 deaths throughout the pandemic. The testing site at Emmanuel serves a diverse cross-section of the East San José community and will continue to offer testing alongside the newly opened vaccination clinic.
"Having vaccination sites in communities that are most adversely affected is key to getting beyond this pandemic. We here at Emmanuel are glad to be able to offer our site as a space of hope and help during this time," said Pastor Jason C. Reynolds, Senior Pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church.
Daily capacity at Emmanuel will total 500 vaccinations per day after a short ramp-up period, and the site will operate Tuesday through Friday from 9am to 4pm. This week, Emmanuel will operate as a walk-in site with no appointments required, but will consider offering appointments together with ongoing capacity for walk-in patients in the weeks to come. In an effort to provide equitable access to vaccine appointments for residents who face barriers to access, the County will set aside some appointments each day to allow for walk-ins and direct scheduling by outreach workers who are providing multi-lingual vaccine information and appointment assistance across the community.
The County encourages all residents 65 and older and healthcare workers to schedule a vaccination appointment this week – multiple sites have appointment capacity available. Additionally, frontline workers in the State’s Phase 1B are now able to schedule vaccination appointments for February 28th or later. This includes workers in education and childcare, emergency services, and the food and agriculture industries. Residents without internet access or who need additional assistance can call 211 for help with scheduling appointments in multiple languages. Appointment slots fill up quickly, but new appointments will be regularly released as vaccine supply allows, and community members are encouraged to check back regularly.
The County Health System alone has administered 163,989 first doses of vaccine and has fully vaccinated 53,047 individuals. Countywide, more than half of residents age 65 or older have received at least one dose of vaccine, with almost 60 percent of residents age 75 or older having received at least one dose. The County reminds the community that even as more residents are vaccinated, everyone needs to continue to practice proven measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as wearing masks and physical distancing.
Visit the County’s COVID-19 vaccine website, sccfreevax.org, for the latest updates on vaccine eligibility and distribution.
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