Where, when Bay Area residents can get updated COVID-19 boosters

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Now that federal officials have endorsed updated COVID-19 boosters, it's only a matter of when the additional doses are rolled out in the Bay Area.

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Not long after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the shots on Thursday, a number of public health departments publicly disclosed their plans or shared them with KCBS Radio.

Here's an updating list of Bay Area public health departments that have announced how they will distribute the omicron-specific booster shots: Moderna's, which is available to all adults, and Pfizer's, for everyone who is at least 12 years old.

As of this story's last update, Napa county officials hadn't responded to KCBS Radio's request for comment, nor did the City of Berkeley.

Public health officials said in a newsletter published on Thursday that county-run sites could offer doses as soon as the end of next week, pending recommendation from the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup. The county won't offer any booster appointments until the new doses are distributed.

Alameda County officials said residents should reach out to their primary health care provider for booster appointment availability.

A Contra Costa County spokesperson told KCBS Radio in an email on Thursday night that public health officials anticipate being able to offer the updated boosters by the end of next week at county-run sites.

Contra Costa Health Services runs vaccination sites in Antioch, Brentwood, Concord, Martinez, Pittsburg, Richmond and San Pablo.

Public Information Laine Hendricks told KCBS Radio on Friday afternoon that Marin County residents should first check with their primary health care provider and major pharmacies such as CVS, Rite-Aid, Safeway and Walgreens due to limited supply. Some local pharmacies on Friday morning showed appointment availability for early next week.

Public health officials received a smaller allotment than they asked for, and Hendricks said the county will focus on distributing those doses to residential care providers.

Hendricks said that Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County's public health officer, is advising anyone who hasn't received a booster shot or sustained a COVID-19 infection in 2022 – especially if they're at least 50 years old – to make an appointment for one of the new boosters.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health told KCBS Radio in an email on Thursday afternoon that, once again, health care providers will distribute the majority of these new boosters. Officials said providers will notify patients when the doses become available.

San Francisco is yet to learn how large the city's allotment will be. City public health officials said those shots are intended for San Francisco Health Network patients, residents with barriers to health care and the uninsured.

Public health officials on Thursday said the county's clinics would close until Sept. 12, when those sites will offer the updated booster and the original vaccination series. San Mateo County residents are also encouraged to check with their health care provider for availability.

"We are working to make sure residents have access to the new booster shots when they become available and to reopen clinics as soon as possible," Lizelle Lirio de Luna, the director of Family Health Services, said in a release.

A spokesperson told KCBS Radio on Thursday night that county officials aren't yet sure of how many doses the state will distribute to the county.

Public health officials will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. on Friday about booster availability, as the county awaits the state's distribution of doses.

A Santa Clara County public health official told KCBS Radio on Thursday night that the hope is residents first check for booster availability with the primary health care provider.

But since the county never broke down its mass vaccination sites, the official said the public health department will be ready to serve the uninsured and people who are having trouble making appointments elsewhere, once state officials give the all-clear.

A public health spokesperson told KCBS Radio in an emailed statement that the county will provide booster shots once state officials allot doses and give local public health officials approval to distribute them.

"Solano needs the green light and vaccine supply to provide the booster," officials said.

Following state guidance, Sonoma County officials on Thursday said the county would stop distributing the original boosters until shipments of the updated boosters arrive. Once the new vaccines become available in the county next week, primary health care providers, health centers, pharmacies, the county vaccine clinic at Roseland Community Center and the LHI clinic at the Rohnert Park Community Center.

"We want to make sure that everyone has the most up-to-date protection against COVID-19," Dr. Sundari Mase, Sonoma County's health officer, said in a statement. "I urge anyone who is eligible to get the new boosters once they are available. This is our best tool to keep the community safe through the fall and winter."

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