Educator Focused Coronavirus Vaccine Site Opens At Santa Clara County Fairgrounds

Press release from the Santa Clara County Government:

March 1, 2021

Santa Clara County, CA – Officials announced the launch of a COVID-19 vaccination clinic focused on educators at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. A collaboration between Santa Clara County Fire, Santa Clara County EMS, and the Santa Clara County Office of Education, the clinic will have the capacity to vaccinate more than 500 workers in the education sector each day. The clinic site will also be staffed by fire, EMS, law enforcement, and local government personnel from throughout Santa Clara County. The County Office of Education is working with local school districts to manage outreach and appointments, with a focus on reaching educators in districts that have been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am so grateful for the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s partnership with the Santa Clara County Fire Department and Santa Clara County EMS Agency,” said Dr. Mary Ann Dewan, County Superintendent of Schools. “Educators and school personnel are some of our most essential workers and having vaccines available helps ensure a safer learning environment for students and staff. With the support of the County of Santa Clara and the leadership of County Fire and EMS, we are now able to expedite access to vaccinations for the workforce.”

The clinic will build on the successful operations of the County’s dedicated vaccine site for first responders that has been operated by County Fire and the County EMS Agency since late December. "As the initial mission of our clinic nears completion, we are proud to be part of the next phase of vaccine efforts,” said Assistant Fire Chief Brian Glass of the Santa Clara County Fire Department. “Protecting our educators protects our communities and brings us closer to a return to normalcy.”

The educator-focused vaccine clinic is part of the County’s rapid expansion of vaccination capacity as appointments opened up this week to frontline workers from the State’s Phase 1B, which includes workers in childcare and education, emergency services, and food and agriculture. Educators and other individuals in Phase 1B who live or work in Santa Clara County are now eligible and can seek vaccination at sites throughout the county. Vaccine will be supplied by the County of Santa Clara Health System.

Public health officials strongly advise everyone to continue to take steps to limit the spread of the virus and reduce strain on our health care systems. These actions include wearing a mask when leaving home, limiting interactions with those outside your immediate household, keeping a physical distance of at least six feet apart, avoiding non-essential travel, and getting the COVID-19 vaccine when you are eligible.

Visit the County’s COVID-19 vaccine website, sccfreevax.org, for the latest updates on vaccine eligibility and distribution.

This press release was produced by the Santa Clara County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.