COVID Vaccines: San Mateo County Opens Drive-Thru Clinic At Event Center For Health Workers, Vulnerable Residents
SAN MATEO (CBS SF) – Starting Monday, San Mateo County is offering a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic for eligible health care workers and vulnerable residents.
The clinic -- which uses the Moderna vaccine -- opened at 1 p.m. at the San Mateo County Event Center at 1346 Saratoga Drive in San Mateo. The line of cars stretched around the facility and was a shot of relief for so many who work in health care.
"Hallelujah!" said Greg Loomis who is dentist. He got word from the San Mateo Dental society just yesterday he is eligible to get vaccinated. "I can't wait to get the vaccination and I think we are on to a good start here."
Mary Hoffman is a dental hygienist in Menlo Park. She got vaccinated on Monday.
"I can breathe a sigh of relief and feel a little more comfortable working on unmasked patients"
Vaccinations will be available to workers and residents eligible under Phase 1A of the state's vaccine distribution guidelines. That phase includes the following groups: those at risk of COVID-19 through work at health care or long-term care settings (including non-clinical staff), and residents of nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and long-term care settings for older or vulnerable individuals.
"We were waiting for this for a number of weeks," said Dr. Scott Hoffman who is a dentist. He got the shot Monday and says he'll be back to work tomorrow at 8 AM sharp. He plans to continue the same safety precautions that are in place.
"I feel better and safer . I felt okay before but I certainly feel safer now . I'm not gonna change anything even if I knew I was fully protected with this vaccine I still wont not change anything."
San Mateo County's Board of Supervisors president David Canepa announced the mass vaccination clinic in a statement Monday.
"This is the best news I've heard in a long time and shows that the dark days of winter will be over soon," Canepa said.
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People interested in being vaccinated at the drive-thru site must complete an online form to confirm eligibility. Registration and appointment information will be available once eligibility is confirmed.
The clinic will open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, then from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
There are approximately 38,000 health care workers and 12,000 long-term care residents in the county. Bill Silverfarb, policy advisor to Canepa, said approximately 12,000 people have been vaccinated from the county's vaccine allocation of 22,000 so far. That does not include workers within medical systems like Kaiser Permanente or Sutter Health, which have separate vaccine allocations.
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Silverfarb said the clinic is expected to continue as long as there are vaccine doses available. The second vaccination dose will be available in four weeks via a similar clinic.
People in Phase 1A who have health plans through Kaiser Permanente may obtain the vaccine through their primary care provider at Kaiser.
For more information on Phase 1A vaccine eligibility, people can visit https://www.smchealth.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/phase_1a_guidelines_for_san_mateo_1.4.20.pdf?1609970737.
For the eligibility attestation form, visit https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Nfb6DU2gzEin422hrwiD-S6Nu8Fm05tAlD6PWRPnVIxUQ0NYMUYyRFlaUUxFSE5DSzlLSEQxVEw4RyQlQCN0PWcu.
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