Some counties vaccinating those age 50 and over

Contra Costa County on Monday expanded its vaccine eligibility to individuals ages 50 or older, regardless of underlying health conditions.

The move comes about a week after Solano County made the same decision to fill open appointments that were going unused.

Under the expanded eligibility criteria, residents who live or work in Contra Costa or Solano counties and ages 50 or older are now allowed to book a vaccination appointment.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, eligibility is restricted to residents 65 or older, those ages 16-64 with disabilities and certain underlying health conditions and employees in certain sectors, including health care, education and transportation.

“We are making good progress vaccinating those in the groups already eligible and will now continue to prioritize more of the most vulnerable groups in our community,” County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano said in a statement.

Across the Bay Area, Contra Costa has made some of the most significant progress in vaccinating its already-eligible residents. As of Monday, more than 336,000 Contra Costa County residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, including 96% of those who are 75 or older.

In comparison, only 69% of Santa Clara County residents aged 75 and older and 74% of Alameda County residents in that age group have received at least one dose.

Monday’s announcement is expected to nearly double the number of residents who are vaccinated in Contra

Costa County, as more than 235,000 county residents are between the ages of 50-64.

“We look forward to the coming months when we can do away with vaccine eligibility, when anyone and everyone is eligible,” Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Chairperson Diane Burgis said in a statement. “More and more doses of vaccine are coming into the county each week and we expect that trend to continue.”

Unlike other parts of the Bay Area, Contra Costa County in the past week has experienced a significant influx of vaccines rather than a shortage. On top of the county’s weekly vaccine allocation from the state, Contra Costa County last week received 14,000 doses from the federal government for its community health centers, opening up thousands of additional appointments.

San Francisco, meanwhile, was grateful to see a 3,000-dose increase in their regular allotment this week — 16,260 doses compared to

a recent average of 13,000 weekly doses.

The decision by certain counties to expand eligibility further than the state mandate comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to decline, allowing more counties across California to reopen to a greater extent. In the Bay Area, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties are expected to enter the state’s orange reopening tier this week.

Over the past week, several million more Californians have qualified for a coveted shot, creating a bottleneck with a limited supply that cannot meet the high demand.

On March 15, California began allowing people 16 to 64 with disabilities and certain underlying health conditions to book vaccination appointments, though some Bay Area county health systems don’t have the vaccine supply to open up any appointments for this group.

Santa Clara County, for instance, has not offered a firstdose

appointment through its health system in more than three weeks. For the second time in recent weeks, the county last week notified nearly 9,000 Kaiser patients that their vaccine appointments scheduled at county vaccine sites would be canceled due to supply shortages.

A Santa Clara County spokesperson said Monday that its vaccine allocation for this week was “relatively flat” and “fell short of the number needed to cover all second doses and schedule any new first doses.”

“We know this situation has created challenges and frustrations for the patients whose appointments were transferred, and the County did everything it could to avoid this situation,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

Eligible residents may request a vaccine appointment through Contra Costa County by filling out an online form here or by calling 833-829-2626.