New policy allows seniors to be vaccinated with COVID-19 anywhere in Santa Clara County

February 4, 2021

Public health officials in Santa Clara County now say that anyone over the age of 65 can be vaccinated from anywhere in the county.

The county’s new “no wrong door” policy, announced Thursday morning, will allow older people to be vaccinated regardless of who their regular health care provider is.

“Kaiser patients can go to the county, Stanford patients can go to Kaiser, and county patients can go to Stanford (to get vaccinated),” said county health officer Sarah Cody. The doctor said. “It doesn’t matter where you go. I want you to get vaccinated.”

County officials said the changes would take effect soon within the county hospital system, but it could take several days for all South Bay vaccine providers to make the transition.

Announcement the next day Health authorities in eight counties in the Bay Area We recommended that all healthcare systems begin vaccination of residents aged 65 and over.

“Our efforts to vaccinate more and more people required both simplicity and clarity, and to date, frankly, both were too few,” said county director Joe. Simitian said. “If we all say we are together, we have to mean that.

Simitian said access to vaccines should not depend on the health care provider that a person has or the number of vaccines that a person has in a particular week.

Kaiser also announced this week Canceled over 5,000 bookings For patients over the age of 65, the hospital “did not receive the expected vaccine” at the time of booking. This move has caused frustration and fear among many Kaiser patients who are excited to get the coveted vaccine.

“In the last three weeks, looking at the numbers and discussing with other health care systems, it became clear that (other hospitals) did not get enough dose to care for the patient,” said County. Chief Jeff Smith said. “Kaiser was in significant shortage, given that it makes up about 40% of the insured’s population (in California).”

Smith said the recent cancellation was a “factor” for this latest policy change.

“When I saw Kaiser forced to cancel … I had to ask myself how I could fix it and how I could intervene in the best possible way,” Smith said.

Over 80% of COVID-19 deaths in Santa Clara County were residents aged 65 and over.

“We need to collectively prevent as many of these deaths as possible, and we can,” Cody said.

Approximately 37% of residents aged 75 and over have been vaccinated so far, and approximately 28% of the population aged 65 and over have been vaccinated, according to county executives.

“The state’s complex vaccine distribution and allocation system, coupled with vaccine shortages, has led to uneven vaccine deployments throughout the county, depending on where people are receiving medical care,” Smith said. Says. “The” unmistakable door “approach we are implementing is designed to use the available vaccines as quickly and fairly as possible to save lives. “

At the same time, South Bay authorities are in the state Speed ​​up vaccine distribution, And as we face a slowdown in shipments, we will increase our allocation to Santa Clara County.

Approximately 180,000 counties have been vaccinated at least once, but more than 48,000 have both vaccinations needed for complete protection from the disease.

As of Thursday, Santa Clara County Cumulative number of COVID-19 cases 103,000, And 1,473 deaths from illness.

For the latest information on vaccine eligibility, please visit: www.sccfreevax.org.. This week, the county also began operating telephone lines for residents who do not have internet access or who need additional assistance to make reservations.

The Valley Connection Call Center can be reached at 408-970-2000. The center is open Monday to Friday from 7 AM to 9 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 8 AM to 4:30 PM. Assistance is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and other languages.

Contact or follow Madelyn Reese at [email protected] @MadelynGReese On Twitter.