County offers drive-thru vaccinations for eligible health care workers, vulnerable residents

Starting Monday, San Mateo County is offering a drive-thru Covid-19 vaccination clinic for eligible health care workers and vulnerable residents.

The clinic, which uses the Moderna vaccine, begins at 1 p.m. at the San Mateo County Event Center at 1346 Saratoga Drive in San Mateo.

Vaccinations will be available to workers and residents eligible under Phase 1A of the state’s vaccine distribution guidelines. That phase includes the following groups: those at risk of Covid-19 through work at health care or long-term care settings (including non-clinical staff), and residents of nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and long-term care settings for older or vulnerable individuals.

San Mateo County’s Board of Supervisors president David Canepa announced the mass vaccination clinic in a statement Monday.

Canepa said:

“This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time and shows that the dark days of winter will be over soon.”

People interested in being vaccinated at the drive-thru site must complete an online form to confirm eligibility. Registration and appointment information will be available once eligibility is confirmed.

The clinic will open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday then from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

There are approximately 38,000 health care workers and 12,000 long-term care residents in the county. Bill Silverfarb, policy advisor to Canepa, said approximately 12,000 people have been vaccinated from the county’s vaccine allocation of 22,000 so far. That does not include workers within medical systems like Kaiser Permanente or Sutter Health, which have separate vaccine allocations.

Silverfarb said the clinic is expected to continue as long as there are vaccine doses available. The second vaccination dose will be available in four weeks via a similar clinic.

People in Phase 1A who have health plans through Kaiser Permanente may obtain the vaccine through their primary care provider at Kaiser.

People can find more information about Phase 1A vaccine eligibility here. The eligibility attestation form is also available online.