In an effort to protect essential workers and the community from COVID-19, a special clinic set up at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds inoculated 30,000 workers in public transit, education, and emergency services.  The exclusive clinic closed Friday April 16, as the County of Santa Clara takes over the site to continue providing vaccines to the general public.

More than 900 VTA workers, frontline bus and light rail operators, mechanics, maintenance, and other employees, received their vaccinations at the clinic over a 5-week period beginning March 10.  VTA and its unions advocated for priority vaccination because of the public-facing, essential work the agency provides.

The clinic, set up and run by the Santa Clara County Fire Department, included volunteers from the County Office of Education, VTA and about a dozen other first responders including San Jose Fire, Mountain View Fire, County Emergency Medical Services.

VTA had 75 volunteers from its various unions, ATU Local 265, AFSCME Local 101, SEIU Local 521 and TAEA Local 21, as well as administration employees working more than 200 shifts checking people in, making sure they had the right appointments, directing them to their vaccine, and monitoring to make sure they didn’t have any trouble afterward during a 15-minute observation period.

On the last day of the clinic, VTA Board Chair Glenn Hendricks, Acting General Manager & CEO Evelynn Tran, and ATU President John Courtney gathered with VTA clinic volunteers to thank them for their dedication and service to helping keep our community safe from COVID.