A makeshift mass vaccination center at the Mountain View Community Center has administered more than 9,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots since opening last month, boosting countywide immunization efforts that have largely focused on San Jose.
The clinic is a central hub for vaccinations in north county and the largest county-run facility north of Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. As of Feb. 16, the center had vaccinated 9,012 people, averaging about 878 appointments per day, according to county health officials.
The site is capable of providing up to 1,000 vaccinations per day, but has fallen short largely due to limited supplies. Levi's Stadium opened earlier this month with five times the capacity of the Mountain View site, and is currently averaging 2,000 appointments per day.
Wait times vary significantly at the Mountain View center, located at 201 S. Rengstorff Ave. Some patients reported no lines while others had to wait more than an hour, and parking can be difficult to find. Similar snags have been reported at Levi's Stadium, which had hourslong lines and hundreds of no-shows for appointments.
Most vaccines administered by the county have been centered in San Jose, with more than 75,000 shots at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds and 26,000 at the Berger Auditorium.
To date, more than 260,000 residents in Santa Clara County have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 94,000 have received their second dose. Santa Clara County has done a majority of the vaccinations with nearly 180,000 shots, followed by Stanford Health Care (60,789), Kaiser Permanente (43,095) and Sutter Health (36,692). Vaccines are currently available to those ages 65 and older, of which nearly half have now been vaccinated in Santa Clara County.
As county officials expand eligibility for the vaccine, the hope is to have more convenient, easy-to-access vaccination centers that don't require appointments. At a county Health and Hospital Committee meeting Wednesday, county Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said the plan is to rely on pop-up vaccination sites and "mobile" vaccination centers that cut down on travel time, which will be important for homebound adults and people with disabilities who cannot feasibly go to a mass vaccination site.
Cody said more needs to be done to target vaccination efforts in communities with higher COVID-19 positivity rates and minority groups with unusually low vaccination rates. State data shows Latinos make up 39% of the state's population but just 16% of those who have received a vaccination to date.
Anyone interested in signing up for a vaccine can go to sccfreevax.org.
Find comprehensive coverage on the Midpeninsula's response to the new coronavirus by Palo Alto Online, the Mountain View Voice and the Almanac here.
Comments
Registered user
College Terrace
on Feb 19, 2021 at 12:04 pm
Registered user
on Feb 19, 2021 at 12:04 pm
Kudos to the County and the city of Mtn View for the way in which this vaccination center is being run. Every aspect of the operation was efficient, well-organized, and easy to navigate. No chaos, no confusion, simply a well-run operation. On top of that, everyone was pleasant. THANK YOU to all who have a hand in this.
Registered user
Greenmeadow
on Feb 19, 2021 at 3:31 pm
Registered user
on Feb 19, 2021 at 3:31 pm
I'll echo the previous comment. I thought they did a very good job also.
One thought that might help people on parking. When I went, there was plenty of parking available behind the Senior Center, which is at the back entrance to Rengstorff Park. A short walk brings you back to the main building (vaccination site).
Registered user
South of Midtown
on Feb 19, 2021 at 3:42 pm
Registered user
on Feb 19, 2021 at 3:42 pm
A friend just got her first vaccination in Mt. View which she chose as it is easier to access for a senior, only to be told she had to get her second shot at Levi Stadium which can be a nightmare to navigate, especially if you are older. This makes no sense.
Registered user
Midtown
on Feb 19, 2021 at 4:39 pm
Registered user
on Feb 19, 2021 at 4:39 pm
I agree with Annette: my experience at the Mountain View site was excellent. Straightforward intake, not too much waiting, easy shot, second appointment booked in the post-shot waiting area. Wish all of the sites worked so well. Good job, folks!
Registered user
Barron Park
on Feb 19, 2021 at 5:07 pm
Registered user
on Feb 19, 2021 at 5:07 pm
Agree that the process at the Mountain View center was well run.
My one complaint was that they were scheduling people for their 2nd dose more than the CDC/FDA recommendation of getting the 2nd dose within 6 weeks.
I had to call the Santa Clara County Health Dept to reschedule so I will get my 2nd dose within the 6 weeks time frame.
Registered user
Mountain View
on Feb 20, 2021 at 1:07 pm
Registered user
on Feb 20, 2021 at 1:07 pm
Got my first shot at the fairgrounds, and I'm scheduled to get my second one there next week. If you've got a car, it's straightforward to get there, there's enough parking that their daily crowd could all arrive at once (not that they can give shots that fast), and it wasn't very crowded. You use one of the side entrances to the fairgrounds parking. The parking lot across the street has drive-through COVID testing. (If Mountain View had been open back then, I could have walked.)
I've only been to Levi's Stadium for a couple of concerts, took the light rail from Mountain View, and it worked fine, by the standards of "handling 50,000 people at once, most of whom can walk"; I don't know if the vaccination area is close enough to the train for people who have trouble walking distances.
Now to get my mom to get a shot; she's in another state, isn't very mobile, and if it weren't for COVID she should probably be in assisted living, and the vaccination systems around her aren't really set up for making house calls.
Registered user
Mountain View
on Feb 22, 2021 at 3:03 pm
Registered user
on Feb 22, 2021 at 3:03 pm
I had my first shot (Pfizer) last Thursday (2/18) as well, and I agree 100% with Annette's description of the set up and staff. To the poster (Marie) whose friend was disappointed about having to go to Levi's Stadium: Levi's is the only location with sufficient doses of Pfizer to administer shot #2. This is per one of staff in the MVCC observation room. This impacts me too.