A mass, drive-in COVID-19 vaccination clinic is returning to the San Mateo County Event Center on a weekly basis starting Thursday due to increasing federal supply of vaccine, the County announced Tuesday.
“The County plans to operate two to three mass vaccination weekly events going forward, depending on supply, with the Event Center site capable of administering approximately 4,000 doses in a day,” the County said.
Meanwhile, the County will continue providing smaller-scale, community-focused vaccination clinics in North Fair Oaks, East Palo Alto, San Mateo, Daly City, El Granada and Half Moon Bay.
Also, the San Mateo Medical Center is using a batch of about 10,000 vaccine doses per week, procured via a federal program of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to conduct mass vaccination efforts targeting populations of homeless, farmworkers and residents in communities where vaccination rates have been lower than the county average.
“Very soon we believe we will have enough vaccine for everyone who wants it, and we hope that is everyone in this county,” County Manager Mike Callagy said. “The more vaccinations we can get out there quickly, the safer this county becomes and the sooner we can move forward to our new life post COVID-19. We need to have everyone think of this vaccine as a life saving measure that moves us closer to normalcy.”
As of April 26, 444,776 residents have been vaccinated, or about 69.4 percent of the total eligible county adult population, according to the California Immunization Registry. Of 115,058 residents 65 and older, 88.5 percent have been vaccinated.
Anyone 16 or over can make appointments up to three days in advance for the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Anyone 18 or over can make appointments to receive the first dose of the Moderna vaccine or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. While the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was temporarily paused for further study over rare cases of blood clots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave the greenlight Friday to resume its use, and Bay Area health officials collectively agree that it is safe to administer. Participants will be informed about which vaccine is being administered.
Residents under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Sign up for appointments via the States’s MyTurn system at myturn.ca.gov.
Photo credited to San Mateo County
