County of Santa Clara COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Healthcare Providers
Last content update: 4/2/24
See COVID-19 vaccine information for the general public.
COVID-19 Vaccine Commercialization
Commercialization is the transition of COVID-19 medical countermeasures, including vaccines, treatments, and test kits previously purchased by the U.S. Government (USG), to more established standard pathways of procurement, distribution, and payment by both public and private payers (i.e., the traditional health care marketplace).
All COVID-19 vaccines are now commercialized and federally purchased doses are no longer the sole supply of vaccine. Most providers must procure the COVID-19 vaccine through usual channels of purchasing from wholesalers, distributors, or the manufacturer.
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People with health insurance now need to obtain their COVID-19 vaccines through their healthcare provider or pharmacy.
- People without health insurance can still access COVID-19 vaccines through state and federal programs, regardless of immigration status.
COVID-19 Vaccines for Uninsured Adults
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Bridge Access Program (BAP) for COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments was created to prevent loss of access to free COVID-19 vaccines and treatment for uninsured and underinsured aged 19 years and older. The program utilizes existing public health infrastructure, HRSA-supported health centers, and participating pharmacies to offer free COVID-19 vaccinations and treatment.
To find participating locations, visit https://vaccines.gov or https://covidaccess.com/.
Providers can visit the CDPH Bridge Access Program webpage for more information.
COVID-19 Vaccines for Uninsured Children
The Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program helps families by providing vaccines at no cost to providers who serve eligible children from birth through 18 years of age. Visit the Immunization information for health providers webpage for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions for COVID-19 Vaccine Providers
Vaccination continues to be the most powerful weapon in our fight against the coronavirus, especially as variants continue to evolve. The vaccine has shown to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death. COVID-19 vaccines are not going away anytime soon and there may be additional booster doses authorized in the future that patients will need to have to be considered up-to-date. We encourage providers to continue educating patients on the benefits of receiving the updated COVID-19 vaccines and helping them locate a vaccination location in instances that the provider does not stock the vaccine at their clinic.
My Turn is an online platform managed by the state for clinic management, dose accountability and reporting, public scheduling, and walk-in registration for vaccine clinics. It is required only if your Electronic Health Record (EHR) is not set up for data exchange with CAIR2. Visit the MyTurn Onboarding page on the EZIZ.org/COVID website for more information.
Yes. COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines, including all of those needed by children to attend school, may be administered without regard to timing. This includes simultaneous administration of COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines on the same day, as well as co-administration within 14 days.
For more information, please refer to the CDC’s Clinical Guidance for COVID-19 Vaccination Appendix A: People who received COVID-19 vaccination outside of the U.S..
For vaccine information for immunocompromised individuals, please visit the CDC's COVID-19 Vaccines for People Who Are Moderately or Severely Immunocompromised and Interim Clinical Considerations webpages.
Clinical Management and Patient Counseling
Educate yourself and your staff with this clinical information from the CDC and CDPH about COVID-19 vaccines.
- CDC General Clinical Resources Page
- CDC Vaccine Product information
- CDC Interim Clinical Considerations
- Clinician Outreach and Communication (COCA) Webinars
- CDPH EZIZ.org/COVID
- CDPH Provider Webinars
- CDPH COVID-19 Vaccine and Therapeutics FAQ
Address patient questions and set expectations using these recommended CDC resources.
Many patients have questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. As vaccine recipients’ most-trusted source of information on vaccines, healthcare providers play a critical role in helping their patients understand the importance of COVID-19 vaccination and when they are likely to be eligible to receive the vaccine.