Santa Clara County on Friday announced the opening of a new COVID-19 vaccination site in an East San Jose neighborhood that's been hard hit by the pandemic.
The new site at Valley Health Center East Valley on McKee Road, near Regional Medical Center, will have the capacity to vaccinate a few hundred people a day, officials said.
County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said one of the critical components of the site is that workers there understand the community, the language and the culture, adding that those factors are "critical to getting everyone vaccinated, and we will continue to put more vaccination sites in these areas."
The East Valley site is part of an expansion in the county's vaccination capacity as more people become eligible for shots under the state’s Phase 1B beginning Feb. 28, officials said. Phase 1B includes workers in child care, education, emergency services and food and agriculture.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
As of Friday, Santa Clara County vaccine sites have administered nearly 177,000 first doses and almost 60,000 second doses, with nearly 60,000 more appointments scheduled over the next week, the county said.
Vaccinations at East Valley Clinic are by appointment only and can be scheduled through the county website at sccfreevax.org or by calling 211 if people need help securing an appointment.
