Watch CBS News

COVID Vaccine: All Santa Clara County Educators, School Employees Given Opportunity for Vaccination

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- Santa Clara County education officials on Friday announced that all teachers and other school employees working in K-12 public schools in the county have been offered the opportunity to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccine eligibility was expanded to the education and childcare sector on February 28, which led to the establishment of a targeted vaccination site for the K-12 workforce at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, officials said in a press release.

The County Office of Education additionally worked with other vaccine providers and offered scheduling support aimed at giving everyone in K-12 sector access to inoculation, particularly focusing on staff from schools in areas most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The County Office of Education is grateful to all of our partners for ensuring efficient and equitable access to vaccination for all of our educators and school staff," said Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan in the release. "We will continue to partner with the County and schools to ensure that our community of educators and school employees have access to the vaccines, with a particular focus on areas of the county that we know have been hardest hit by the pandemic."

"The County is committed to getting vaccinations into the arms of teachers and school staff, and we saw so many eager educators come through our clinics," said Chavez. "This is welcome step, and we will not stop until our entire community has gotten access to the vaccine."

The county has faced some struggles with the COVID vaccine. Earlier this week, Santa Clara County health officials confirmed they had stopped scheduling first dose appointments for the COVID vaccine due to a lack of supply from the state.

The decision to stop scheduling first dose appointments came a day after county officials told Gov. Gavin Newsom they will not participate in his plan to have Blue Shield control COVID-19 vaccine distribution.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.