Reflecting the countywide commitment to protect all Contra Costa residents from COVID-19, Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) today announced a new goal for the county and its healthcare partners: Deliver 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine by Independence Day.
“There is no higher priority in Contra Costa County than delivering COVID-19 vaccine to as many eligible residents as possible, as quickly as possible,” said Diane Burgis, chair of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors. “We believe this is a realistic goal, provided our supply of vaccine increases.”
The county’s announcement follows a promise yesterday from new President Joe Biden to administer 100 million doses during the first 100 days of his administration.
“Together with our partners in the community, from large health systems to independent doctor’s offices to supermarket pharmacies, we are building the infrastructure to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of county residents, quickly and safely,” said Anna Roth, director of Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS). “When doses arrive, they do not sit in freezers. They go straight to the public.”
Contra Costa went from providing zero doses to more than 5,800 per day during the first month that COVID-19 vaccine became available, and the daily average continues to climb as community health providers offer more shots to patients and members, and as CCHS opens more county-operated community immunization sites.
If the state can supply enough vaccine, CCHS and our partners together will soon have capacity to provide up to 9,000 doses of vaccine daily. With anticipated contributions from other health systems in the community, Contra Costa could achieve its million-dose goal by July 4.
This week, CCHS also launched its new vaccine-appointment phone line – 1-833-VAX-COCO (1-833-829-2626). Now, those who are unable to schedule vaccine appointments online can call us and book an appointment Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Eligible residents seeking appointments are encouraged to use the online form unless they do not have internet access or have difficulty using the online form.
Other local resources, including links to other healthcare providers in the community now offering vaccine, are available at coronavirus.cchealth.org/get-vaccinated.
CCHS also has a new data dashboard on its COVID-19 web page, cchealth.org/coronavirus, that provides daily updates for the county’s vaccination campaign. More than 65,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far in the county.
In addition to the first wave of vaccine recipients, which included healthcare and emergency workers and people who live or work in residential care facilities, all county residents 65 and older can now request an immunization appointment through CCHS.
Appointments with CCHS are not first come, first served. Every day we prioritize appointments for people who are in the highest risk categories, according to state and federal guidelines, especially people who are 75 or older.
Appointments for other eligible residents can vary according to several factors, including age, underlying health concerns, how close they live to a vaccination site where an appointment is available, and whether they live in a neighborhood or community that is especially impacted by COVID-19. Because vaccine is scarce, the reality is that it may take weeks for some eligible residents to get a vaccine.
As more private health systems serving Contra Costa expand capacity to serve their members and patients, more county residents will hear from their own healthcare providers about how and when they can access COVID-19 vaccine.
Visit cchealth.org/coronavirus for local information about the COVID-19 pandemic and Contra Costa’s immunization campaign.