Contra Costa County health officials say demand for the vaccine has skyrocketed since the state expanded eligibility to people 65 and older on Wednesday, with 1,000 requests coming into the county website each hour.
Dr. Ori Tzvieli, deputy health officer and COVID-19 operations chief for the county, said on Friday that Contra Costa County will prioritize people 75 and older and those living in areas where the coronavirus is more prevalent.
“We expect that some of the people between age 65 and 75, we will take a little longer to get to, but we are receiving their request, keeping them in the queue and sending out vaccination appointment tickets as those appointments open up," he said.
Tzvieli said the county has about 36,000 doses on hand, with 12,000 more coming in each week from the state. He projected that by the end of next week, the county and it partners would be administering 3,600 shots per day on average, ramping up to 5,800 in a month. Those numbers don't include the majority of shots given by private health systems.
Officials expect it will take several weeks to vaccinate the 77,000 residents who are 75 and older.
Report from ABC7:
—Julie Chang and Jon Brooks