Santa Clara County and other areas are intensifying to cause a large increase in people seeking vaccines against COVID-19, when residents 16 years of age or older are eligible on April 15th.
But health officials are also facing a sudden drop in vaccine supply now that Johnson & Johnson has reduced its nationwide distribution from about 5 million doses to just 700,000.
It was kind of business as usual at the Levi’s Stadium vaccination site in Santa Clara on Friday.
But what becomes even more erratic and unpredictable is the supply of vaccines.
Congressman Ro Khanna arrived at the vaccination site as workers and volunteers in Santa Clara County find themselves in the middle of a strange dilemma, a projected increase in more people seeking vaccines while generally receiving fewer vaccines.
“My understanding and my belief is that I will see many more prey in the next two or three weeks. It was a shortage situation two or three weeks ago, but the situation is improving,” he said.
But the congressman acknowledges that Johnson and Johnson’s shortage is serious. Santa Clara County received more than 9,000 shots from Johnson & Johnson last week and will receive less than 3,000 this time.
Facebook is preparing to set up a clinic on its site Saturday morning to help the Ravenswood Family Health Center. Fortunately, it will manage firing at Moderna as Johnson & Johnson’s supply from San Mateo County went from 17,000 last week to just 500.
“This health center supports our vulnerable population near the Campus. So with the shortage of vaccines, we felt it was crucial for us to do our part and support their efforts, ”said Ashley Quintana, Facebook’s public policy manager.
Facebook also has big plans to help Governor Gavin Newsom and nonprofits establish clinics in central and southern California. But no matter where the sites are, progress still depends on the supply of vaccines.