To be fully up to date with COVID vaccine protection, people need to have a booster shot, said County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody.

The state’s Department of Public Health issued a statement Tuesday urging a temporary pause on the vaccine’s administration.

Health officials say testing is critical to understanding where the region stands in the pandemic, particularly as new variants circulate.

Two new variants detected in New York, three cases of the South Africa variant and one case first detected in Japan/Brazil have been found in the county.

Santa Clara County Covid-19 Testing Officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib said the county has been conducting 7,000 to 8,000 tests a day.

The state Covid-19 framework gives counties credit toward their case rate for reopening if they test more people than the state average.

The wrist bands will be available at three pop-up testing sites starting Tuesday.

That reopening framework will be a departure from the sector-specific plan that’s been used over the last few months.