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From YouTube: County Public Health Dept. Press Conference (County To Enter Yellow Tier) - May 18, 2021
Description
Today, County officials announced that Santa Clara County has made excellent progress in the fight against COVID-19. Case rates have declined to some of their lowest levels at any point in the pandemic, and test positivity rates have hit an all-time low. The county’s vaccination rates are also among the very highest in the nation, as more than 75% of county residents 16 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine. On Wednesday, the county will enter the least restrictive “Yellow Tier” under the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
With the county in a much safer place than it was even a month ago, County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody announced that she would be lifting most of the local rules currently in place, including requirements that businesses maximize the number of staff who are teleworking, replacing prior rules with a limited local health order. The new order will require continued reporting of COVID-19 cases in workplaces and schools, and will require employers to determine which staff are fully vaccinated in advance of changes to State masking and social distancing requirements for fully vaccinated people in the workplace. The new order goes into effect Wednesday, May 19th.
The County also addressed recent announcements from the CDC and the State Department of Public Health related to masking and social distancing requirements for fully vaccinated people.
The changes to local requirements come as more than 75% of Santa Clara County residents over the age of 16 have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and nearly 60% are fully vaccinated. Getting vaccinated has never been easier, as the County and other vaccine providers have established many vaccine clinics throughout the county. Many of these vaccination sites do not require appointments, and many offer weekend and evening hours.
The County is continuing to make every effort to reach the communities hardest-hit by the pandemic to ensure equitable access to these life-saving vaccines. The latest information about vaccines and appointments is available on the County’s vaccine website at sccfreevax.org.
With the recent approval of the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, the County of Santa Clara has made the Pfizer vaccine, which is the vaccine approved for that age group, available at all of its vaccination sites. The County is also working with pediatricians throughout the region to ensure they can also offer vaccination to their patients.
For more information, visit https://www.sccFreeVax.org
This press conference was recorded on May 18, 2021.
For more information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Cupertino, please visit https://www.cupertino.org/coronavirus
A
B
C
C
This,
the
coveted
vaccines
authorized
by
the
food
and
drug
administration
are
incredibly
safe
and
incredibly
effective.
We
know
that
they
prevent
illnesses,
hospitalizations
and
death,
and
now,
based
on
the
latest
research,
we
are
also
confident
that
they
prevent
people
from
spreading
covid.
That's
somewhat
new
and
very
important.
The
vaccines
prevent
people
from
spreading
covid
from
the
very
beginning
of
this
pandemic.
C
Today,
I
am
retiring
many
of
the
restrictions
that
have
been
in
place
for
a
long
time.
One
of
these,
such
as
remote
working
wherever
possible,
simply
isn't
necessary
any
longer
because
of
where
we
are
so.
I
am
rescinding
the
october
risk
reduction
order
and
I'm
replacing
it
with
a
very
simple
order,
and
this
order
does
three
just
three
things:
one.
It
requires
employers
to
determine
the
vaccination
status
of
their
employees.
C
C
So,
as
james
mentioned
as
of
tomorrow,
we'll
be
in
the
yellow
tier,
so
we'll
need
to
follow
the
state's
yellow
tier
rules,
and
we
will
also
be
following
the
california
department
of
public
health's
masking
rules,
which
means
that
for
now,
we'll
all
generally
continue
wearing
our
masks
indoors
for
the
time
being,
but
people
who
are
vaccinated
and
most
others.
We
don't
need
to
wear
our
masks
outdoors
and
james,
and
I
have
removed
our
masks
today
to
model
that
behavior
for
you.
I
will
admit
to
you.
C
Our
new
order
ensures
that
everyone
is
safe,
while
employers
determine
the
vaccination
status
of
their
workers.
And
while
we
continue
to
get
even
more
of
our
residents
vaccinated,
we're
continuing
to
make
every
effort
in
our
county
to
reach
our
hardest
hit
communities
so
that
we
can
ensure
that
everyone
has
access
to
this
life-saving
covid
vaccine.
C
C
C
So
our
goal
now
is
to
get
as
many
people
vaccinated
as
quickly
as
we
can
so
that
we
can
protect
people
who
aren't
yet
vaccinated
or
aren't
eligible
to
be
vaccinated.
In
the
meantime,
this
order
will
help
us
in
doing
that,
and
it
will
also
allow
many
people
who
are
vaccinated
to
begin
to
recapture
some
of
the
things
that
matter
most
to
us.
C
So
if
you
haven't
already
gotten
your
vaccine,
please
do
do
so
as
soon
as
you
can
visit
our
website,
scc,
sccfreevax.org
plenty
of
information
of
how
to
get
vaccinated
and
where
and
let's
all
look
forward
to
a
wonderful
summer
where
we
can
all
be
and
feel
a
bit
safer
and
return
to
normal.
Thank
you
so
much
and
I'm
going
to
turn
it
back
to
james.
B
As
dr
cody
mentioned,
today's
health
officer
order
replaces
the
october
risk
reduction
order
and
it
has
specific
focused
measures
to
continue
to
ensure
safety
in
our
community.
This
means
the
prior
local
requirements
that
were
in
place
on
top
of
the
state's
framework
are
now
being
retired.
That
includes
the
directive
to
maximize
telework,
as
well
as
the
requirement
to
submit
and
implement
a
social
distancing
protocol,
and
that
was
an
across-the-board
requirement
on
all
businesses
in
our
community
again,
those
requirements
are
being
rescinded
effective
tomorrow.
B
B
That's
why
this
new
health
order
requires
all
businesses
and
entities
to
determine
vaccination
status
of
their
personnel
in
the
next
14
days.
If
someone
chooses
to
decline
to
report
their
status,
they
must
follow
the
safety
rules
for
those
who
are
unvaccinated
to
make
this
easy.
We've
created
a
simple
form
that
businesses
can
use
to
obtain
this
information
and
meet
this
requirement,
but
they
are
also
free
to
use
their
own
tools
if
they
choose
to
do
so
as
long
as
they
meet
those
requirements.
B
We
are
one
of
the
safest
communities
in
the
nation
because
our
community
is
vaccinated,
but
if
you
haven't
yet
gotten
your
shot,
there's
no
better
time
than
right
now.
Appointments
are
really
easy
to
get
drop-ins.
Walk-Up
appointments
really
accessible
and
available.
All
you
need
to
do
is
visit
scc-freevax.org.
B
All
the
information
is
there,
there's
really
no
excuse.
Over
the
last
several
months,
it's
become
clearer
and
clearer.
That
getting
vaccinated
is
the
single
best
thing
that
you
can
do
to
keep
yourself
safe,
but
also
to
protect
your
family,
your
friends,
your
neighbors
and
your
co-workers,
based
on
everything.
We
know
this
is
our
best
pathway
forward
and
we
urge
everyone
to
get
vaccinated
right.
Now,
it's
never
going
to
be
easier
or
simpler.
B
D
Good
afternoon,
everyone-
and
thank
you
very
much
for
joining
us
during
your
lunch
hours
today.
I
want
to
start
with
an
abundance
of
gratitude
to
all
of
our
county
residents.
You
have
done
everything
you
possibly
could
to
keep
our
community
safe.
Because
of
these
efforts.
Our
case
rates
are
declining
sharply,
we're
making
tremendous
progress,
as
you
heard,
with
vaccination
rates
and
we
are
entering
the
yellow
tier.
We
are
getting
closer
to
pre-pandemic
normalcy.
D
The
light
at
the
end
of
the
tunnel
is
brighter
and
closer
than
ever,
because
the
residents
of
santa
clara
county
have
stepped
up.
So
I'm
talking,
maybe
to
those
of
you
who
have
not
yet
gotten
your
vaccination.
That
is
the
first
question
out
of
my
mouth
to
everyone.
I
encounter
these
days
on
zoom
on
the
phone
walking
in
the
neighborhood
or
on
the
trail,
picking
up
groceries
or
pet
food.
D
Fortunately,
the
answer
is
yes
more
and
more
often-
and
I
hope
that
all
of
you
can
say
the
same-
getting
vaccinated
as
james
williams
said,
has
never
been
easier.
There
are
multiple
sites
throughout
the
county
where
residents,
12
and
older
can
go
seven
days
a
week,
and
if
you
need
a
ride
to
your
vaccination,
we've
got
you
covered.
Vta
has
created
an
interactive
map
for
the
public
to
find
a
list
of
current
vaccination
locations
along
with
the
bus
or
light
rail
routes
to
take
to
each
site.
D
Transit
trips
to
vaccination
sites
are
free.
The
county
and
vta
have
launched
a
free
door-to-door
service
to
transport
patients
to
their
vaccine.
Appointments,
accessible,
vta
paratransit
vehicles
will
pick
patients
up,
take
them
to
their
appointment,
wait
for
them
and
then
provide
the
return
trip.
Anyone
for
whom
transportation
is
a
barrier
to
getting
vaccinated
can
utilize
this
service
seven
days
a
week.
Call
the
covid19
assistance.
Navigation,
can
19
resource
hotline
at
eight
408.80.
D
I
encourage
our
residents
to
keep
up
this
great
work
continue
to
get
tested
when
you
think
you
have
been
exposed
to
the
virus
and
please
get
vaccinated,
get
your
12
to
15
year
old
kids
vaccinated
either
by
visiting
a
walk-up
site
or
by
scheduling
an
appointment
at
scc
freevax.org
we
are
getting
through
this
together.
We
are
so
close.
Thank
you
very
much.
I'm
pleased
now
to
call
out
my
colleague
supervisor
otto
lee.
E
E
So
therefore,
it's
really
easy
to
get
our
vaccines
down
by
getting
the
two
dose
vaccines
or
your
single
dose
vaccine,
whichever
you
choose,
has
proven
to
not
only
prevent
yourself
from
getting
the
the
covet,
but
also
the
transmission
of
covert
to
other
people
as
well.
This
is
truly
exciting
news
and
I'm
also
excited
to
say
that
more
than
three-quarter,
more
than
three-quarter
of
our
residents
has
already
got
at
least
the
first
dose
and
that's
over
1.2
million
doses,
just
in
the
santa
clara
county
alone.
E
E
Certainly,
I
want
to
say
so
much
thanks
to
our
residents,
but
also
to
our
county
staff
that
has
been
removed
from
the
positions
from
the
eoc
and
everywhere.
They've
been
deployed
to
make
this
happen
for
those
of
you
who
have
gone
through
our
vaccination
program,
you
understand
how
smooth
how
great
that
process
is,
and
I
hope,
urge
everybody,
as
my
colleague
susan
ellenberg,
has
said,
go
to
secfreevac.org
if
you
still
haven't
been
vaccinated
and
tell
everybody
tell
everyone
get
vaccinated
now.
Thank
you
very
much.
C
C
C
The
question
is
around
my
previous
comments
about
relaxing
rules
and
seeing
rise
in
cases
and
deaths
and
does
the
vaccine
change
that,
and
my
answer
is
absolutely
yes,
we
are
in
the
position
that
we
are
in
now
because
of
our
high
and
increasing
vaccination
rates.
It
has
made
all
the
difference
in
the
world
all
the
difference
in
the.
H
C
Right
so
the
the
the
rules
that
we
continue
to
have
in
place
and
the
state's
rules
around
masking
are
designed
to
protect
people
who
are
not
yet
vaccinated
or
not
able
to
be
vaccinated
because
of
age
or
medical
status.
Or
what
have
you,
the
more
people
that
are
vaccinated,
the
better
we
can
protect
those
who
are
not
vaccinated.
That's
just
kind
of
a
fundamental
central
tenet
of
vaccination.
You
vaccinate
to
protect
yourself
and
to
protect
those
around
you.
I
C
B
Sure
so
the
current
order
that's
been
in
place
for
many
months
requires
maximization
of
remote
work
to
the
greatest
extent
possible.
That
obviously
mostly
applies
in
office
traditional
office
settings,
but
that
has
been
a
mandate
in
the
in
the
health
order
that
is
going
away
effective
tomorrow.
So
there's
no
longer
a
requirement
to
maximize
a
remote
work
or
telework
and
as
a
practical
matter
that
will
probably
have
the
most
significant
effect
in
traditional
office
settings.
B
The
there
is
no
covert
related
reason
for
folks
to
continue
to
maximize
remote
work.
There
may
be
other
reasons
that
a
business
chooses
to
do
that
and
that's
obviously
up
to
them.
This
isn't
a
mandate
on
how
they
run
their
operations,
but
what
this
is
signaling
is
that
there
is
no
longer
a
covid
19
health
related
reason
to
be
maximizing
remote.
I
B
So
the
question
was:
is
it
a
hipaa
violation
for
employers
to
ask
people
about
vaccination
status
and
the
answer
is
no
and
we've
actually
created
a
form
to
help
employers
meet
this
requirement?
One
of
the
options
available
on
the
form
is
for
employees
if,
if
they
wish
to
decline
to
provide
their
status,
that's
a
box
that
they
could
check.
However,
if
they
do
so,
they
will
be
treated
for
the
purpose
of
workplace
safety
rules
as
unvaccinated.
So.
G
B
B
First,
one
things
that
we've
done
at
the
local
level
is
this
order
aligns
completely
with
the
state's
face
covering
rules,
so
there
is
no
difference
between
the
local
requirements
and
state
requirements
regarding
face
coverings,
so
that
should
help
simplify
things.
The
second
is
that
you
know
we
we
do
follow
and
we
have
to
follow
the
state's
rules
regarding
face
coverings.
B
Businesses
and
individuals
in
our
county
need
to
follow
those
requirements,
and
the
state
has
signaled
that
they're
taking
this
month
to
help
ensure
that
more
people
get
fully
vaccinated
before
making
additional
shifts.
But
our
order
is
not
just
in
alignment
with
the
state,
but
also
in
furtherance
of
that
effort.
Now
is
the
time
to
get
vaccinated,
go
to
sec
freevax.org,
and
then
you
won't
have
to
worry
about
what
might
be
the
case
after
june.
G
B
C
What
we'll
do
is
what
we've
done
since
the
beginning
of
the
pandemic,
which
is
look
at
the
local
data.
Vaccination
rates
case
rates,
positivity
rates,
look
at
the
state
policies
and
then
decide
whether
we
need
any
adjustments
based
on
local
conditions,
and
our
numbers
have
been
changing
rapidly
over
the
last
month,
all
in
positive
directions.
So
it's
difficult
to
predict
now,
where
we'll
be
on
june
15th.
C
I
also
just
wanted
to
say
something
about
the
masking,
and
I
know
that
it's
been
a
bit
confusing
with
cdc
issuing
guidelines
and
then
the
state's
masking
guidance,
and
what
I
want
to
say
is
this:
the
cdc
got
the
science
right.
It's
really
important
for
all
of
us
to
understand
and
really
rejoice
that
we
now
have
evidence
that
vaccinated
people
are
very
unlikely
to
spread
covid.
So
that's
fantastic
and
that's
what
was
really
behind
the
masking
guidance.
C
The
state
has
taken
action
that
I
also
think,
is
fantastic
they're,
keeping
their
masking
policy
that
everyone
has
become
accustomed
to
in
place
for
another
month,
so
that
we
can
all
figure
out
how
to
implement
it
right.
This
is
a
big
change
and
it
takes
time
to
figure
out
how
to
implement
it,
so
the
state
has
given
us
time
and
then
we've
taken
a
step
that
we
hope
is
helpful
and
that
we've
given
businesses
specific
directions
for
how
to
implement
this.
For
what
to
do.
I
hope
that.
K
B
The
I
think
the
the
the
simplest
thing
to
point
to
right
now
is
cal.
Osha
has
proposed
regulations,
they
haven't
been
adopted
yet,
but
they're
going
to
be
considered
on
may
20th
so
later
this
week
and
those
regulations
very
clearly
differentiate
between
what's
required
in
the
workplace,
for
in
terms
of
safety
rules
for
those
who
are
fully
vaccinated
and
those
who
are
not.
B
For
example,
the
proposed
regulations
say
that
if
you're
in
a
room
where
everyone
is
fully
vaccinated,
you
do
not
need
to
wear
a
face
cover,
and
it
also,
if
you're,
in
an
environment
where
everyone's
fully
vaccinated
physical
distancing
requirements
are
relaxed.
Those
are
just
two
examples:
we'll
see
what
the
final
rule
is
that's
adopted,
but
I
think
we
foresee
that
there
will
be
more
along
those
lines
just
like,
for
example.
Today,
if
you
are
a
close
contact
to
a
case,
you
do
not
need
to
quarantine
if
you're
fully
vaccinated.
B
If
you
are
eligible,
get
vaccinated,
get
fully
vaccinated
right
now,
if
you've
only
gotten
one
dose
and
you've
been
waiting
on
the
second
get
the
second,
you
know:
we've
seen
a
little
drop
off
between
first
and
second,
not
a
lot,
but
we've
seen
a
little
drop
off
between
first
and
second
doses.
You
need
the
second
dose
if
you've
gotten
the
modern
or
pfizer
vaccine
in
order
to
be
considered
fully
vaccinated
under
the
state's
rules,
under
the
cdc
guidance
and
under
the
local
order.
So
that's
critical
as.
H
B
B
The
question
is
whether
businesses
could
adopt
mandates
and
they
obviously
need
to
consult
their
own
council
on
their
own
specific
workplace
rules,
but
in
general,
that
answer
is
yes
and
that's
something
that
they'll
have
to
consider
on
their
own.
We
know
that
several
university
systems,
for
example,
have
come
out
with
requirements
that
they'll
have
in
place
in
the
fall
for
students
and
and
staff,
and
that
is
certainly
a
tool
that
they
could
choose
to
have,
but
just
to
be
again
very
clear.
The
order
itself
is
not
a
vaccine
mandate.