Starting Monday, San Mateo County is offering a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic for eligible health professionals and vulnerable residents.
The clinic – which uses the Moderna vaccine – starts at 1:00 p.m. at the San Mateo County Event Center at 1346 Saratoga Drive in San Mateo.
Vaccinations will be available to workers and residents who qualify for Phase 1A of the state’s guidelines for vaccine distribution. That phase includes the following groups: those at risk for COVID-19 from work in health or long-term care settings (including non-clinical staff), and residents of nursing, assisted living and long-term care facilities for the elderly. or vulnerable individuals.
San Mateo County’s board of trustees, David Canepa, announced the mass vaccination clinic in a statement on Monday.
“This is the best news I have heard in a long time and shows that the dark days of winter will soon be over,” said Canepa.
People interested in vaccination on the drive-thru site must complete an online form to confirm eligibility. Registration and appointment information is available once eligibility is confirmed.
The clinic is open on Mondays from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM and Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
There are approximately 38,000 health workers and 12,000 long-term care residents in the province. Bill Silverfarb, policy adviser to Canepa, said that so far about 12,000 people have been vaccinated from the province’s 22,000 vaccination allocation. That doesn’t apply to employees in medical systems like Kaiser Permanente or Sutter Health, who have separate vaccine assignments.
Silverfarb said the clinic is expected to continue as long as vaccine doses are available. The second vaccination dose will be available through a similar clinic in four weeks.
People in Stage 1A who have health plans through Kaiser Permanente can obtain the vaccine through their primary care provider at Kaiser.
For more information on qualifying for the Phase 1A vaccine, people can visit the San Mateo County health web page.