Santa Clara County no longer has a shortage of coronavirus vaccine, a significant change from a month ago.
In February and March, health officials frequently sounded the alarm about a lack of vaccine supply. But Santa Clara County recently qualified for a federal program aimed at underserved communities, and last week the county received 300,000 doses on top of what it gets from the state.
Dr. Ahmad Kamal, who directs health care preparedness for the county, says that even though thousands of new appointments have become available, officials are still working to get the word out in vulnerable communities through sign-up fairs and other means.
"We have door-to-door outreach efforts going, knocking on people’s doors, offering them appointments," Kamal said.
Around 60% of county residents 16 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine and about 33% have been fully vaccinated, according to official statistics, though the county says the number of vaccines administered are undercounted because of issues with the state immunization information system.