April 25, 2021
Source: Officials are becoming more optimistic as vaccinations increase and cases decrease.
As of April 23, Santa Clara had reached a milestone in the crusade against Covid-19. Over 1 million people, 16 and over, in Santa Clara, have been successfully administered their first vaccination. Furthermore, nearly a third of the 1.6 million people eligible for vaccinations have already 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.”
Recently, Santa Clara has announced an increase in Covid-19 vaccine supplies and will increase appointments accordingly. Current projections indicate that nearly 10,000 new appointments may be available as early as next weekend. For the latest information about vaccines and to schedule an appointment, visit the County’s vaccine website at http://www.sccfreevax.org.
“Our staff was frustrated to be sitting and waiting and not having enough of the vaccine to get the job done. Now, I think everyone feels very gratified in the work that they’re doing every day,” said Valley Medical Center Vaccination Coordinator Dr. Jennifer Tong.
County leaders say they will continue their push to get as many people vaccinated as possible. Currently, the County’s health system and other providers are expanding evening and weekend hours. Furthermore, they plan on working with local leaders to increase vaccine access to hard-hit groups.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to have vaccine supply, but we know that we have a lot of work to do still to ensure that our hardest-hit communities have the access that they need,” said County Deputy Executive Dr. Rocio Luna.
On April 25 under CDC guidance, the hold of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine has been lifted and Santa Clara is planning on resuming J&J vaccinations. Despite the 15 confirmed cases of vaccine-related clotting, many health experts agree that the vaccine is safe and the risk extremely low. However, Santa Clara health experts agree that a warning label should be mandated to help the public make an informed decision on getting vaccinated.
“To all the folks who’ve been working to get folks vaccinated, a very, very sincere thank you, and for all of you who got vaccinated, a very, very sincere thank you,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who joined county leaders in announcing the major milestone.
With the increasing rates of vaccinations and decreasing rates of Covid-19 spread, many Santa Clara health officials are optimistic about moving Santa Clara into the Yellow Tier by May 4. As school and community reopening continues, Santa Clara may finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.
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