FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2021
Ensuring equity remains at the core of efforts by the County and its partners so that all community members have access to vaccines
Santa Clara County, CA – This week Santa Clara County has reached a major milestone in the COVID-19 vaccination effort, with one million eligible residents receiving at least one dose of vaccine since inoculations began in December 2020.
As of today, more than 62% of all residents 16 and older have now received at least one dose of vaccine. More than half a million people – about a third of the eligible population of 1.6 million – have been fully vaccinated.
“This is a moment to celebrate,” said Mike Wasserman, President of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. “Today we applaud all the tremendous efforts of our health care workers and community partners, our outreach workers, and everyone involved in getting shots into arms as fast as possible. Most of all we need to celebrate the people of Santa Clara County who have stepped forward to do their part in getting vaccinated when their turn came up.”
County officials said the million-mark is a very positive milestone but stressed that everyone needs to stay the course by wearing masks, maintaining their distance, and getting vaccinated now if they have not done so already.
“I’m thrilled that we have reached this milestone in protecting our community from COVID-19. Vaccination is critical to keeping COVID-19 rates low, especially as we see variants of the virus circulating in our community,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Health Officer and Director of Public Health for the County of Santa Clara. “We have the vaccine supply we need now and I encourage everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible if you haven’t already.”
County officials urged community members who may have been hesitant to get vaccinated at first to reconsider now that more than a million of their friends, neighbors, coworkers, and community members have done their part to protect themselves and the community as a whole.
The County of Santa Clara continues robust efforts to close vaccine equity gaps. Community outreach is ongoing, particularly in the areas of East San José and South County, where residents have been the most disproportionately affected by the pandemic and may now face obstacles to vaccination such as technology and transportation challenges. The County Health System and other providers are expanding evening and weekend hours; directing mobile teams to reach impacted neighborhoods, workers, and medically vulnerable residents; and working with community leaders to help share information about vaccines and how to access them in multiple languages.
“Our teams in the field have facilitated vaccine appointments for more than 16,000 community members, and the pace is picking up now that we have more supply,” said Dr. Rocio Luna, Deputy County Executive for the County of Santa Clara. “Our mobile vaccination and outreach strategies are central components of the County’s overall efforts, and County leaders remain laser focused on closing these equity-related gaps in partnership with community.”
Vaccination appointments are currently available and new appointments are released daily. The County’s website is regularly updated in five languages with the latest information about vaccines and scheduling appointments.
“We know that these vaccines are safe, effective, and the most powerful way to keep yourself, your family and your community safe,” said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, Testing and Vaccine Officer for the County of Santa Clara. “While reaching 1 million vaccinations is a great milestone for our community, we must continue to work toward getting the rest of those eligible vaccinated as quickly as we can. We can do this!”
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