Thousands Of New Vaccine Appointments Available

EAST BAY — Pre-pandemic, more than 75,000 people a day commuted from Alameda or Contra Costa counties to Santa Clara County for work.

Each one of them is now eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine there, and the Santa Clara County Health System just released thousands of new appointments for the week, including 10,000 for the weekend.

Santa Clara County is working on getting even more evening and weekend appointments to accommodate people who work during the day.

Make an appointment on Santa Clara County's vaccine website. Everyone 16 and older is eligible, so long as you work or live in the county.

New appointments are added daily, so keep trying if you don't score a slot on the first try.

“We encourage everyone who is eligible to sign up for an appointment now,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. “This includes our community members who have already had COVID-19 and have recovered. The vaccines are our most critical and effective tools to protect you and your loved ones, especially with variants of the virus circulating in our community.”

Some 73,555 people from Alameda County commuted to Santa Clara County for work before the pandemic, while 14,020 from Conta Costa made the long trek, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission reported.