More agricultural workers in South Santa Clara County are receiving doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, even as supply remains low.
This week, the county vaccinated food and agricultural workers on-site at Lusamerica Foods and Kawahara Nursery in Morgan Hill, and will be facilitating a vaccination clinic in partnership with Olam Spices and the UFW Foundation in Gilroy on Friday that will be open to workers from other farms.
Earlier in March, vaccination clinics were held at Monterey Mushrooms in Morgan Hill and Christopher Ranch in Gilroy.
“These vaccination events in South County at food production facilities and farms are critical to reaching our frontline workers most at risk,” said Deputy County Executive Rocio Luna. “The County will continue to do everything we can to ensure equitable access to vaccination and to prioritize communities at greatest risk.”
Preparations are also underway for the opening of drive-through vaccination capacity at Gilroy High School, in addition to the walk-in clinic currently operating at that site. This drive-through capacity is expected to begin operations next week.
County officials expect vaccine supply to increase significantly statewide in a few weeks, including through additional supplies of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Given the continuing insufficient vaccine allocation to the County Health System from the state, county officials notified several thousand Kaiser Permanente patients that their vaccine appointments scheduled between March 22-28 will have to be transferred to Kaiser.
“The lack of sufficient supply from the state has been frustrating for everyone, particularly those who are eligible for the vaccine, and want to be vaccinated, but have been unable to sign up,” said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, testing and vaccine officer for the county. “We have had to use almost all of the vaccine we received for second doses, and have continued to provide access for our hardest-hit communities to the greatest extent possible given ongoing shortages.”
