COVID-19

Current Situation

COVID-19 vaccines continue to be the best defense against severe illness and death. New formulations of the COVID-19 vaccine for the 2024-2025 season are available now. These updated vaccines are designed to better match currently circulating strains, and the CDC recommends that everyone ages six months and older receive the updated vaccine.

Stay Up to Date on Vaccines

Vaccines are the best defense against severe illness and death. Visit MyTurn in the Resource Library below to schedule your COVID-19 vaccine or contact your health care provider or pharmacy (Costco, CVS, Walgreens, Safeway).

COVID-19 vaccines are available for everyone six months and older. Be sure to stay up to date as the vaccine is updated to protect against new variants. Some individuals such as children, people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised and those age 65 or older, may need additional doses of vaccine.

Reporting Requirements for Clinicians and Laboratories

Please refer to current CDPH guidance regarding COVID-19 reporting requirements for health care providers and laboratories.

Health care providers should report via the CalREDIE Provider Portal or complete a COVID-19 Confidential Morbidity Report (CMR) found in the resource library below and submit via fax to 650-573-2919 or secure email to SMCCDControl@smcgov.org. Attaching the laboratory report and relevant medical records to the CMR will help ensure the public health follow-up is able to move forward quickly.

How to Report

As of April 2022, report all COVID-19 exposures and cases through the Shared Portal for Outbreak Tracking (SPOT). While in the past we have accepted reporting through phone and email, due to the volume of cases, these are no longer viable reporting methods. As well, SPOT fulfills all reporting requirements. There is no need to submit line lists, spreadsheets or any other documentation.

The first time you report through SPOT:

1. Review the SPOT Intake Form Overview, User Guide and Demo for Liaisons (YouTube Video) in the resource library below.
2. Complete the SPOT Intake Form.
   • The Point of Contact listed should be the person who will handle confidential information and report exposure details. A SPOT Liaison Account will be created for this person.
3. Verify that you have received a confirmation email.
4. Monitor your email inbox for a Welcome to SPOT email and follow the instructions to finish setting up your SPOT Liaison Account.
5. Continue reporting through the SPOT Portal and communicate with San Mateo County Health via the Send Updates feature.

Reporting through the SPOT Portal using your Liaison Account:

1. Log in to the SPOT Portal using your Liaison Account.
2. Submit cases and contacts through the “Report Cases and Contacts” feature.
3. You will be prompted to select which location you are reporting for. If you are reporting for a location for the first time, you will need to select “None of the above” and enter all of the new location’s information before submitting cases.
4. If you have been notified by a member of our outbreak teams to use an Exposure Event number, please ensure it is included with each case you submit. Otherwise, please do not enter anything for the Exposure Event number.
5. To update or send new information about existing exposure events and/or records, go to the “View Locations and Exposures” tab, select the location you are submitting an update for and click on the “Send Update” button on the right-hand side.