Bay Area’s vaccine supply remains inconsistent for some parts
Bay Area’s vaccine supply remains inconsistent in some parts
The Bay Area faces feast or famine conditions as it struggles to inoculate its populous. Lines moved briskly at Levi's Stadium COVID vaccination site. Santa Clara County health officials said their shortage of doses in March, turned into ample bounty in April.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - South Bay health officials are encouraging all eligible residents to sign-up for COVID-19 vaccination. This comes after Santa Clara County announced it has received enough vaccine to book appointments into next week.
The lines moved briskly Monday at the Levi’s Stadium vaccination site. Santa Clara County health officials said their vaccine shortage in March has turned into ample bounty in April.
"Enough so that we can keep up with each of our sites maximum capacity, which allows us to vaccinate in a day, just over 20,000," said Dr. Jennifer Tong, associate chief medical officer at the country-run Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.
She said 10,000 appointments are available through next weekend.
It’s a stark contrast to neighboring San Mateo County. Officials there said their supply has dropped, from 20,000 doses weeks ago, to just over 11,180 per week now.
"With vaccine supply to San Mateo County severely constrained, we continue to focus on second-dose clinics and limited, targeted fist-dose clinics in communities of need," Dr. Anand Chabra, the county’s vaccination branch chief, said in part in a emailed statement to KTVU.
"The longer it takes to get a critical mass of people vaccinated, the longer it’s gonna take for this to be akin to the influenza (seasonal flu) outbreak that we get every year," said Dr. Mark Schwartz, a San Jose State University biotechnologist.
San Mateo officials said they expect supply to increase the last week of April. But they don’t have specific numbers.
Down the road in Santa Clara County, officials are looking to the future, and the goal of herd immunity.
"I think we all feel very relieved that the population has been willing to get vaccinated. That our operations can operate at full capacity," said Dr. Tong.
KTVU received one report of a canceled first dose appointment in Alameda County, apparently due to a lack of supply. The appointment was booked through Sutter Health.
Sutter responded in an emailed statement, which read in part, "Sutter is not currently canceling any appointments at the Alameda County Fairgrounds mass vaccination site, though our vaccine supply remains low and particularly impacted by the J&J pause."
Alameda County officials said their vaccine levels have remained constant, and that they have not had any vaccination appointments canceled due to a lack of supply.