San Mateo County Vaccination Rates Stay Steady Despite Low Supply

By Astrid Casimire, Bay City News Foundation

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — As all California residents 16 and older become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, San Mateo County officials are still waiting to receive an increased supply of doses from the state, county officials said Wednesday.

Last week the county received 11,650 doses, a drop from the 17,420 received the previous week. Some of these doses also went directly to providers via the state's arrangement with Blue Shield of California, the third-party vaccine administrator.

County Manager Mike Callagy said that San Mateo will likely receive a decreased supply this week and next, which would be frustrating as more people become eligible.

"This week and probably next week we'll see less supply than we've seen for several months now," Callagy said. "Why that is, we're not really sure. The state has indicated that it has to do with supply chain issues in getting the vaccines out here and we look forward to that day, as promised, when we'll have more than enough vaccine for everyone."

Despite the decreased vaccine supply, the county's overall vaccination rates remain on par with neighboring Bay Area counties. As of Tuesday, 57.2 percent of San Mateo County residents 16 and older have received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to 59 percent in San Francisco and 49.8 percent in Santa Clara County.

Even as vaccine eligibility expands, San Mateo County Health will continue to focus on supplying vaccine doses to underserved communities.

The county's most vulnerable communities — those in the lowest quartile of the California Healthy Places Index (HPI) — have a vaccination rate of 46.5 percent. Deputy Chief of San Mateo County Health Srija Srinivasan said there has been a persistent 10 percent gap between the vaccination rate countywide and the rate in the lowest HPI communities. The county's focus on community clinics aims to close that gap.

For more information on COVID-19 vaccination in San Mateo County, visit https://www.smchealth.org/covid-19-vaccination-program-overview.

Copyright © 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.