Welcome to the Santa Cruz County Immunizations and Vaccines webpage! This page contains information on vaccines for the general public, healthcare providers, schools and child care providers. On this page you will find resources on where to get vaccinated, health advisories for vaccine-preventable disease, recommended vaccines by age, and more. This information has been broken down into the following sub-pages:
If you don’t have insurance, you may be eligible for Medi-Cal, a public health insurance program which provides health care services to low-income individuals. To learn more about Medi-Cal eligibility and to sign up, visit the County of Santa Cruz Human Services Department.
The follow people may be eligible: Families with children, seniors (65 or older), individuals with disabilities, children in foster care, pregnant women, and low-income people with specific diseases such as tuberculosis, breast cancer or HIV/AIDS.
If you are enrolled in Medi-cal and having trouble accessing a specific vaccine, please contact us using the “Contact Us” box above
Commonly Used Terms/What is It?
- Immunity: Protection from an infectious disease. If you are immune to a disease, you can be exposed to it without becoming infected.
- Vaccine: A preparation that is used to stimulate the body’s immune response against diseases. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but some can be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.
- The California Code of Regulations Title 17, Division 1, Chapter 4, Article 1. Section (M) states: For purposes of this Article, “vaccine” means an immunization administered in the United States of America or other countries that is recommended by the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the prevention of the respective diseases identified in section 120335 of the Health and Safety Code.
- Vaccination: The act of introducing a vaccine into the body to produce protection from a specific disease.
- Immunization: A process by which a person becomes protected against a disease through vaccination. This term is often used interchangeable with vaccination or inoculation.
- Community Immunity: Immunity that occurs when people are protected by those around them. This type of protection is indirect in that it does not involve physical components of immunity, such as antibodies, but rather results when a pathogen is less likely to infect a susceptible person because of the high numbers of protected people around them.
Protect yourself and your family when travelling in the United States and abroad by getting all the required vaccinations for travel in other countries, making sure you are up to date on routine U.S. immunizations, and staying informed about any travel notices and alerts.
For more information about Travel Immunizations, visit the CDC’s Travel Immunization website. To search for a location offering travel immunizations near you, use the CDC search site. We suggest making your search broad to ensure that you can see all options (search travel clinics in California, don’t specify the city as that will eliminate possible options near you).
As of June 21, 2023 the following clinics in neighboring counties may offer travel immunizations:
COVID-19 Vaccination Information
Visit the Santa Cruz County COVID-19 Vaccine Page for up to date information on the COVID-19 vaccine.
Flu shots are the best protection against the flu
Getting a flu vaccine is an easy step to protect yourself and your community.
To learn more and find out where you can get your flu vaccine, visit the California Department of Public Health’s Flu page.
Archived Vaccine News and Health Advisories
CDPH Health Advisory: Recommendation for Meningococcal Vaccine (MenACWY) for Men who have Sex with Men (MSM)—Florida Meningococcal Outbreak—June 6, 2022
CDC Monkeypox Response: Transmission - June 9, 2022
Santa Cruz County Monkeypox webpage
UPDATED: 6/23/23