COVID-19 vaccines are an important tool to reducing transmission and returning the community to normal operations. Together, we will end the pandemic.

Local Planning

Santa Cruz County Public Health Division is currently following California Department of Public Health and Center for Disease Control guidelines to prioritize COVID-19 vaccine eligibility (see chart). Vaccines will come into the community through a variety of means, including direct allocations to local congregate living facilities, medical providers, health insurers and the Public Health Division.

Most residents will receive their vaccines through their medical provider, and residents should contact their doctor or clinic for more information. The Public Health Division will distribute vaccine through our local vaccine plan.

Until everyone has access to a vaccine, everyone should continue doing their part to protect the community, including staying home as much as possible, wearing face coverings in public, maintaining social distancing and avoiding gatherings with those outside their your household.

COVID Vaccine Interest Survey

Santa Cruz County Public Health is expanding access to COVID-19 vaccination AS SUPPLIES ALLOW to workers in education and childcare, emergency services, and food and agriculture industries. Eligibility will be based on occupation definitions from the California Department of Public Health. If you are an organization with staff in these sector occupations, we urge you to fill out the following survey. Your responses to the following survey questions will help our team connect your organization to upcoming vaccine clinics. Please only submit one survey per organization.

This survey is intended for Santa Cruz County residents only and should take about two minutes to complete. COVID Vaccine Interest Survey

COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Santa Cruz County Residents
Healthcare System Current Eligibility (Please confirm with your healthcare provider)
*Healthcare systems are frequently updating eligibility criteria based on capacity and available vaccine.		 How to Schedule an Appointment
Kaiser Permanente

KP members who are:
Eligible healthcare personnel in Phase 1A and
Individuals who receive primary care through Kaiser and are Age 65 and older

 Call Kaiser at 866-454-8855 or use their online portal https://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine to schedule an appointment.
Sutter Health/Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) Eligible healthcare personnel in Phase 1A regardless of insurance and Individuals who receive their care through PAMF and are Age 65 and older Contact Sutter/PAMF to schedule a vaccination appointment: www.sutterhealth.org/covid-vaccine or by phone (844) 987-6115
Dignity Health Medical Group – Dominican Dignity Health patients who are 65 years old and older or who work in healthcare Contact your Dignity primary care provider to schedule an appointment by phone (831) 288-6526 or through the patient portal. Find latest updates, at http://www.dhmf.org/dominican
OptumServe Mass Vaccination Site Eligible Phase 1A healthcare personnel, Santa Cruz County residents age 65+ Call 877-218-0381 or visit http://myoptumserve.com/covid19. English and Spanish available.
Salud Para La Gente Eligible Phase 1A healthcare personnel, Salud patients age 70 and older, and patients of small medical offices who live in the 95019, 95076 and 95077 zip codes Contact Salud Para La Gente to schedule a vaccination appointment by phone (831) 728-0222.
Santa Cruz Community Health (SCCH) Santa Cruz County Residents age 65 and older. Call (831) 427-3500 ext 324 to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment.
Emeline Health Center Eligible healthcare personnel included in Phase 1A, regardless of insurance and those individuals that receive primary care at the Emeline Health Center who are 65 years and older. We are currently reaching out to our registered patients within the stated tiered guidelines. To make an appointment, contact the main line at (831) 454-4100. Please be patient, as we are currently experiencing extremely high call volumes .
Watsonville Health Center Eligible healthcare personnel included in Phase 1A, regardless of insurance and those individuals that receive primary care at the Watsonville Health Center who are 65 years and older. To make an appointment, call or text (831) 515-9399, if you send a text messages please add your full name, date of birth and phone number. You may also contact the clinic main line (831)763-8400 Please be patient, as we are currently experiencing extremely high call volumes.
Homeless Persons Health Project (HPHP) Eligible healthcare personnel included in Phase 1A, regardless of insurance and those individuals that receive primary care at HPHP who are 65 years and older. To make an appointment, call (831) 454-2080 or use https://calendly.com/covid-iz/hphp
Local Pharmacies Eligible healthcare personnel in Phase 1A regardless of insurance Partnerships in development and to be announced
Rite Aid (in select stores) Check guide for eligibility. https://www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/covid-qualifier
CVS (in select stores)
  • People 65+
  • Healthcare workers
  • Long-term care residents and staff
 https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
Federal Pharmacy Program Skilled Nursing Homes, Residential Care Facilities and Assisted Living Facilities The participating pharmacies will contact each enrolled facility to schedule clinics.
If you are in Phase 1a but are not linked to any of the healthcare systems above, please fill out this survey to be notified on where to receive your vaccine.
If you would like to be notified when it is your turn. Sign up at: https://myturn.ca.gov/

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What values and principles are guiding local distribution of the vaccine?

    The Public Health Division is committed to providing transparent and accurate information to help residents make vaccine decisions, focusing on equity and data, ensuring safe and equitable distribution and leveraging all venues and partners for broad vaccine distribution.

  • How will a COVID-19 vaccine impact the pandemic?

    A COVID-19 vaccine could reduce the number of people with COVID-19, reduce severity of illness, reduce hospitalizations and reduce deaths.

  • What can I do to help?

    General volunteers can sign up through the County’s Volunteer Initiative Program

  • When will vaccines be available?

    We have received the first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine. At first, supplies will be limited, but will increase in the coming months.

  • Who gets the vaccine first?

    The initial limited supply of vaccines will go to frontline healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities. As the supply of vaccine increases, those with the highest risk of becoming infected and spreading COVID-19 will receive vaccines.

  • What steps are being taken to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe?

    The U.S. vaccine safety system ensures that all vaccines are as safe as possible. California also formed a Scientific Safety Review Work Group comprised of nationally recognized immunization, public health, academic and other experts to review vaccine safety.

    The work group is staying abreast of vaccine candidate(s) trials, evidence of safety and efficacy, and other information to independently provide recommendations to California leadership as well as ensure public confidence in vaccine safety, efficacy, and implementation efforts.

  • How many doses are needed for the vaccine to be effective?

    Most of the COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States need two doses several weeks apart to be effective.

  • Is the vaccine free?

    Cost will not be a barrier to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

  • If I get the vaccine, will I still have to wear a mask?

    Yes. While experts learn more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide under real-life conditions, it will be important for everyone to continue using all the tools available to us to help stop this pandemic, like wearing masks, washing hands and physical distancing.

  • Should people who have gotten sick with COVID still get vaccinated?

    Due to the severe health risks associated with COVID-19 and the fact that re-infection with COVID-19 is possible, people may be advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine even if they have been sick with COVID-19 before. At this time, we do not know how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. We won’t know how long immunity produced by vaccination lasts until we have a vaccine and more data on how well it works.

Public Resources:

Healthcare Provider Resources:

Providers interested in participating in COVID-19 Vaccination can enroll in the California’s centralized system CalVax.