Eligibility expands Thursday (April 1) to individuals age 50 to 64; Every resident age 16 and older eligible for vaccine beginning April 15
March 31, 2021
  • Redwood City – Nearly 284,000 people in San Mateo County have received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine (44.2 percent of residents age 16 and older) and nearly half of those – 135,000 – are fully vaccinated, San Mateo County Health announced today.

    A member of County Health's Street and Field Medicine team delivers COVID-19 vaccine to an individual in San Bruno.

    A member of County Health's Street and Field Medicine team delivers COVID-19 vaccine to an individual in San Bruno.

    A total of 412,160 doses of vaccine have been administered due to the combined efforts of major health care entities such as Dignity Health Care, Kaiser Permanente, Stanford Health Care, Sutter Health, and AHMC/Seton as well as local health care providers, community partners and County Health.

    Of these, 68,770 doses have been administered by County Health at mass vaccination clinics at the Event Center and the long-term parking garage at San Francisco International Airport and at community clinics throughout the county.

    Eight out of 10 older adults (80.3 percent) of those age 65 and over have received at least one dose. The reach is even greater among those age 75 and older – 84.8 percent.

    Of all county residents who have received the vaccine, 52.8 percent identify as people of color, 29.9 percent identify as white and 17.3 percent identify as other/unknown, according to data collected at vaccination sites.

    “As the state expands eligibility, we think it’s important that the public knows about the progress we and our health care partners have made in getting vaccine into the arms of residents,” said Louise Rogers, chief of San Mateo County Health.

    Since the first vaccines became available in December, the County’s vaccination program has focused on the elderly, essential workers, and residents in the most vulnerable communities.

    “We continue to place a strong focus on equity,” Rogers said. “That means getting the vaccine directly to those communities that face the greatest challenges and the greatest barriers in accessing vaccination sites.”
     

    Equity Focus in Vulnerable Communities and for Essential Workers

    As of March 25, 2021, vaccination of eligible residents ages 16 and older in the most vulnerable communities (referred to as the Health Equity Quartile of the Healthy Places Index, or HPI) reached 33.3 percent, compared with the overall county vaccinated rate of 44.2 percent.

    The County’s recent shift away from large mass vaccination sites to focus on targeted community clinics is aiming to close the gap. Similarly, the gap in testing positivity between the countywide average and lowest Healthy Places Index tracts continues to close (countywide: 0.9 percent; HPI communities: 1.5 percent).

    Thanks to County Health’s Street and Field Medicine, working with the Healthcare for the Homeless/Farmworker Health program and local community partners, efforts to vaccinate over 1,000 farmworkers on the Coastside are nearing completion. Second-dose clinics will conclude in a few weeks.

    A vaccination clinic in operation in Daly City, San Mateo County's most populous city.

    A vaccination clinic in operation in Daly City, San Mateo County's most populous city.

    Similarly, vaccines have been offered to all shelter programs for individuals experiencing homelessness. Ten large shelter locations and smaller programs hosted vaccination events this month, bringing the vaccine to where it is needed. Teams from Street and Field Medicine are also vaccinating unsheltered individuals this week and next. These efforts will reach the approximately 1,500 individuals experiencing homelessness in San Mateo County.

    A total of 23,013 doses of vaccine have been administered at the 389 long-term care facilities in the county. Ninety-eight percent of these facilities have held two clinics, and 72 percent have held a third clinic to expand vaccine access and increase vaccine uptake of residents and staff.

    Nearly all of the county’s 15,000 workers in the education sector have been vaccinated thanks to a partnership between County Health and the San Mateo County Office of Education to develop priority appointment lists and dedicated vaccine opportunities. The County has been given an additional allotment of 1,300 first doses to continue vaccinating childcare workers.

    County Health also worked with organizations representing transit workers, grocery store workers, fire and law enforcement, and others to provide vaccine opportunities in these essential sectors.

    “This has been a trying year for most of us and a tragic year for many of us,” said County Manager Mike Callagy. “We have lost 547 of our friends and neighbors and loved ones in San Mateo County due to COVID-19. The faster we can help more people get vaccinated, the faster we can all end this pandemic.”

    A major effort on the San Mateo County coast provides COVID-19 vaccine to farmworkers where they live and work.

    A major effort on the San Mateo County coast provides COVID-19 vaccine to farmworkers where they live and work.

     

    As of March 25, 2021, in San Mateo County:

    • 421,160: Vaccine doses administered
    • 283,711: Individuals vaccinated
    • 135,440: Individuals who completed vaccination series
       
    Top Five Vaccines Administered:
    • 80,215: Kaiser Permanente
    • 68,770: San Mateo County Health
    • 42,596: Sutter Health/PAMF
    • 38,852: Stanford Hospitals and Clinics
    • 28,006: CVS
       
    Vaccines Administered:
    • 221,531: Pfizer
    • 184,591: Moderna
    • 6,014: Janssen

    For additional vaccine data, visit https://www.smchealth.org/coronavirus-health-data