Educators and Food Workers Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccines Next Week

By edhat staff
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) announced educators and food service workers will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine next week.
During a press conference on Friday evening, PHD Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso confirmed the next tier of childcare providers, educators, emergency service workers, agricultural workers, and food/grocery employees will be eligible to receive the vaccine along with healthcare workers and anyone over the age of 65 years.
As of Tuesday, the county has administered 87% of the doses received. The percentage is lower than normal due to last week's storm delay, but PHD fully anticipates being caught up by next week.
PHD stated it will follow the state's guidance of a 70/30 vaccine administration approach. Approximately 70% of all vaccines received will be allocated to people aged 65 and older while 30% will be allocated for all other eligible sectors.
For educators, local Superintendents discussed prioritization with PHD on who will get vaccinated first and determined they would start with special education teachers who work with medically fragile students. At least 1,000 vaccines are earmarked for this group next week.
COVID-19 Numbers Plateau
PHD officials stated they are somewhat worried about the recent plateau in COVID-19 case rates and testing positivity
Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg stated the case rates are dropping, just not as drastically as before and he would have liked to see them go down faster. He said the plateau of metrics appears to be a global phenomenon with cases being stalled after a decline, and at this level, even a small number of active cases is enough to keep the virus spreading.
Dr. Do-Reynoso attributed the plateau to pandemic fatigue, people getting tired of all the personal sacrifices made in the past year. She encouraged the community to stay vigilant until everyone is vaccinated.
Approximately 80% of all infections are caused by 10% of people who are socializing and not following proper guidelines, said Dr. Ansorg. He said this is happening on a global scale and keeps the pandemic going.
Friday's Numbers
The PHD reports 2 deaths and 104 new cases on Friday. Two individuals were 70+ years of age. Both individuals had underlying health conditions. No deaths were associated with an outbreak at a congregate care site. The individuals resided in the city of Santa Barbara and the area including the City of Lompoc and the communities of Mission Hills and Vandenberg Village.
There have now been 409 deaths within the county since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Santa Barbara County currently has 382 active cases. Of those, 76 are hospitalized with 18 in the intensive care unit.
More data can be found at https://publichealthsbc.org/status-reports/.
68 Comments
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Mar 02, 2021 02:08 PMWhy can’t our county roll out vaccines like Ventura county? Ventura county has at least 7 public mass vaccination sites available right now and they are continually opening more each week. I’ve heard that their sites are primarily staffed by traveling nurses and paid employees rather than volunteers. They are operated by the county. Each Monday at 7am online or 8am on the phone they release appointments for the week on calvax.org which you link to through the county’s website to make an appointment. No need to go through an employer. They’ve come through for their residents and workers and bravo to them. Their essential workers will be vaccinated far sooner than ours will be, and then they can scale up their operation to inoculate the general public quickly. Some places are governed competently and some aren’t. We should take a page from Ventura county’s playbook, quickly! People are dying while the county continues to twiddle its thumbs.
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Mar 02, 2021 03:47 PMTo do that, you need a vaccine supply. Only now are we getting a decent pipeline of vaccines, reliably enough to plan more than a week ahead.
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Mar 01, 2021 09:20 AMAs of 9:20 Monday the County Public Health website has active appointment links for emergency service, ag, and food workers, but not educators and childcare workers.
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Mar 01, 2021 09:50 AMTwo teacher friends (and a yard duty!) we know have appointments today and tomorrow. It sounded like they set up a separate system for the set aside school vaccines.
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Mar 01, 2021 06:52 AMSo why on earth are they jeopardizing the teachers health, by sending them back to teach in classrooms full of children today, before they have had vaccinations? Why could the school district not wait until their educators were safely vaccinated? Unbelievably irresponsible!!
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Mar 01, 2021 09:19 AMLDK57 - why weren't the teachers demanding to be vaccinated months ago? Why did they wait till the last minute to decide they needed to be vaccinated before going back to the classrooms? We knew back in January we'd likely be able to go back to the classrooms by Spring. Why wait till now to make these demands?
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Mar 01, 2021 07:37 AMLDK - because they aren’t jeopardizing their health anymore than anyone else’s!!!! The teachers union has already held everyone hostage for 6 months beyond what any/all logic stated... at some point you stop negotiating with terrorists... and that’s pretty much what the teachers union is akin to! I haven’t missed a day of in person work in a year... not have any most of the non IT people I know.
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Feb 28, 2021 08:02 AM@JB86 -- I think you were using the wrong sign up for cottage - it is actually very easy no login/password needed. I signed up when it opened for 65+ on Feb 14, vaccinated on Feb 26. Try it.
https://www.cottagehealth.org/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccine-information-signup/
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Feb 27, 2021 01:23 PMLots of teacher haters out there... Seems to me that for your own selfish reasons, you think that the teachers should jeopardize their health all because you are tired of parenting your own kid. Just saying.
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Feb 28, 2021 07:36 AMMountain man- you are correct, it is completely on the school board and teachers union. Santa Barbara county was the perfect candidate for the waiver system in the Summer/early Fall. That they didn’t apply for the waiver was insane... and that was obvious to all at that time!!! Why allow ag worker numbers in Santa Maria and prison numbers in Lompoc justify keeping Goleta schools closed??? It was so insanely short sighted! So yes when I direct my anger at “teachers” it’s the school board and teachers union... who literally did nothing to open up (or in the case of the teachers union...did everything to not open up!). Did some teachers annoy me with their comments of not opening till you can 100% guarantee everyone’s safety... yes! But that’s not the majority of teachers... just a few insanely narcissistic ones. So my apologies if I made it sound like I was going after teachers... I’ve loved all my kids teachers! But the argument the school board kept making in every school board meeting, and what the teachers unions around the country kept saying, and a few posters on here that are school admins were saying, has caused irreparable and incalculable harm. The used science as the argument to close in March... which yes, we needed to!! But then when the science pointed to opening... and then showed the desperate need to open...they abandoned science and logic! That’s not the teachers...but it is our elected officials (and the union).
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Feb 27, 2021 10:44 PMDuke - I totally understand your points and frustration, but I believe it is misdirected. It wasn't the teachers that closed the schools or have the authority to open them up. I'm sure the union smelled blood in the water, but that's another issue. The County and the State closed the public schools, and threw the teachers up as the sacrificial lamb for angry parents. Teachers, from day one, were either shown news stories of teachers dying, or being told that they would be responsible for the spread that would kill one of their student's grandparents. Private and charter schools opened up. Teachers are there and have been there. The public system schools are subject to the local and state governments. I know many educators in the school system that are just waiting to be allowed back into their classrooms - with their kids (yes, there is a relationship there), but are being told "NO".
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Feb 27, 2021 07:25 PMUh oh, here it is, that rare moment where I’m compelled to tell SAC that I agree with him 1000%! I truly don’t want my kids to leave me I absolutely love having them home but I also know I can’t provide them the education that a certified teacher can. I don’t want a babysitter I’ve never had babysitters I watch my own kids and LOVE every minute of it (ok sometimes going out to dinner without them is kind of nice) but I’m not looking for a daycare I’m looking for an educator and zoom sucks.
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Feb 27, 2021 07:09 PMI’ll dance... what are you advocating here for CSF? We need to open schools ASAP... there is a pretty definitive consensus on this.
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Feb 27, 2021 06:41 PMDUKE: "Your comment shows no capacity for thought or understanding of the world."
It's frightening to think that people like this may be in charge of our children's education.
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Feb 27, 2021 05:17 PMCP local - is that Chapala Porch Local by any chance? You're in no man's land with your ridiculous statement. Everyone has a job, everyone has up and downs and sacrifices to make. I'd go on and on but your implicit comment that teachers will die if they resume their jobs is absurd. ABSURD.
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Feb 27, 2021 05:15 PMCPLOCAL - that whole "all they want is babysitters" argument is pathetic, especially coming from those considered to be "educated." People want what's best for their kids and remote learning is NOT it. I'm happy at home with my kids, but I'm not a teacher and their remote "learning" is subpar and minimal, even almost a year into this. We all want our kids properly educated. We don't need you to babysit, we need you to educate our kids, because that is YOUR chosen profession. I absolutely love having my kids home with me as I work from home. It's easy, it's fun, but it's NOT WHAT IS BEST for them. I fully agree you should have vaccine priority, EVERYONE who has to work in public now should have that. I do wonder though, why teachers didn't push for vaccines earlier, say when they came out? Why wait till the last minute to demand them?
Quit with the lazy logic and simplistic attitude. We want our kids in school FOR THEIR SAKE, not ours.
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Feb 27, 2021 01:51 PMCplocal - They are estimating millions of years of life lost due to schools being closed in 2020 (5.53 million in fact)... I guess that’s ok with you... who’s tired and selfish again?????? Because it’s not the People working every day... it’s the teachers union who is punting on our youth!
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2772834
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Feb 27, 2021 01:48 PMYour comment shows no capacity for thought or understanding of the world. You advocate for something that’s worse for literally everyone... except the teachers! And again, notable time to remind people that teachers kids and school admin kids are in school and have been in school since august. Tho ey are perfectly fine sending their kids to school... but not themselves.
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Feb 27, 2021 01:46 PMOwn selfish reasons???? Virtually everyone else is at work! The cdc and The WHO have studies showing no uptick in infections with school in place... so it’s not a safety issue! Both have pointed out the long term disastrous effects of school being out. I’ve worked straight since March... as have many others!! Why are teachers the only holdout when the HEALTH OFFICIALS are saying we have to be in school for health and safety reasons! Who’s being selfish again their cplocal? The people working and keeping society afloat or the direct deposit school admins and teacher union reps who are ignoring science... our kids health and welfare be damned ???!!!
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Feb 27, 2021 10:44 AMWhat happened to 10% of all vaccines going towards educators? I'm happy for my colleagues who will qualify for the whopping 1000 vaccines available for educators this coming week but last I checked that is far less than 10% of SB County population.
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Feb 27, 2021 09:56 AMIt doesn’t matter what tiers are opened if there are no appointments to be had in the city of Santa Barbara. There are still tons of elderly people that are desperately trying to get an appointment in SB to no avail...I work in healthcare and I’m having to go to Santa Maria to get mine.
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Feb 27, 2021 08:53 AMOn the SB Public Health website to sign up, the ONLY place in SB/Goleta available is through the Cottage waitlist link. No CVS sites are listed as available, the Ralphs link shows no available locations within 20 miles of 93101, and the RiteAid link is broken. There are links for the Montecito Vons and Carp Sav-on, but no appointments are available. How did the system get so broken? How is SB County getting so shortchanged when Ventura is sticking needles in teachers' arms as I type this?
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Feb 27, 2021 08:11 AMto all those complaining about whining teachers not teaching until they are vaccinated, I sure hope you are all chomping at the bit to be first to volunteer or even hire on as teacher aides...put your money where your mouth is!
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Feb 27, 2021 11:21 AMYes... Agreed... not “everyone” is back... but pretty much everyone, unless they work at initech or penetrobe (or the like) are obviously at work keeping everything running!
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Feb 27, 2021 10:53 AM"Everyone else is working" is not exactly true. We have both been working from home since the pandemic started - at our companies' requests. We both have coworkers at risk who HAVE to be physically at work. At first, our companies were anxious to have everyone back in the office by last July. Now, they send regular reminders: DO NOT COME IN HERE UNLESS YOU HAVE TO.
I realize that many many people are already back at work, but certainly not "everyone", and we did see quite a surge last year from office spread.
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Feb 27, 2021 08:43 AMHZ - right... so you mean all the parents who are at work and have been working every single day to keep Society functioning? Everyone else is working... it’s just the teachers holding out and holding us hostage as they demand more and more!
They obviously won’t allow it for awhile but I’ll gladly volunteer a couple hours of week in my kids class as I did multiple times... before then going to (and staying late) at work!
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Feb 27, 2021 06:48 AMlet's see what percentage of our whining teachers opt for the vaccine....this should be telling. Since the SB school district has said they can't teach in person learning until vaccinated, shouldn't the vaccine be mandatory to keep your job? Can't have it both ways!
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Feb 27, 2021 08:39 AMI'm not sure where you heard that the SB school district said they cant come back till teachers are vaccinated. That is not correct. Elementary schools are starting this week and high schools as early as March 11 if the case numbers continue to drop. Very few teachers will be vaccinated by then.
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Feb 26, 2021 10:24 PMI saw four unmasked local teenagers, obviously from different households, yucking it up and bouncing all over each other after school today. Like the experts say, it only takes 10% of the population to screw it up for everyone else and keep the virus spreading. Of course teachers want to get vaccinated to protect themselves before getting back into their preferred teaching environment: the classroom.
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Feb 27, 2021 06:22 PMThree unmasked adults and one kid in a baby stroller going to breakfast on De La Vina this morning. Maybe they are in a pod but I doubt the pod includes the restaurant?
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Feb 27, 2021 10:51 AMSeeing this also frustrates, but at this point, 3056 children aged 0-17 in the county have already had it. (Probably more than that.) I sometimes wonder how many people are being reckless, and how many have already had it. Both my niece and nephew have had it (not local). Niece (22) never knew it (she tested positive for anti-bodies when she got hired to work at a hospital). However, she traveled to FL for spring break last year, so... Nephew (20) has it now. Got it from his college roommates.
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Feb 27, 2021 07:40 AMDr. Fauci from last weekend's
interview on Meet the Press.
'CDC guidelines try to delineate the steps where you can do just that, on how do we get them back to school in a safe way and giving several guidelines about how you can do that. It’s not an easy issue. Anybody that says it’s an easy decision to make, they’re not looking at the complexity of it.'
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Feb 27, 2021 07:40 AMDr. Fauci from last weekend's
interview on Meet the Press.
'CDC guidelines try to delineate the steps where you can do just that, on how do we get them back to school in a safe way and giving several guidelines about how you can do that. It’s not an easy issue. Anybody that says it’s an easy decision to make, they’re not looking at the complexity of it.'
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Feb 26, 2021 11:19 PMThe experts all say school needs to open now... PERIOD! Those arguing and fighting that are doing so purely from selfish reasons...
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Feb 26, 2021 10:37 PMOnly elementary schools are reopening....and maybe these kids are relatives and/or have been in a “pod” together for weeks or months.
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Feb 26, 2021 09:11 PMI will not be getting a vaccine when the rules are that you still have to wear a mask all through 2022, still social distance, don’t leave your house, don’t visit family and now it sounds like they are going to use the words mutations and variants to keep you in endless controlled fear. What’s the point? Yeah, no thanks. I’ll just keep living like it’s 2019 like I’ve been this whole time.
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Mar 01, 2021 11:27 AM420722 - you're ridiculous. So, you refuse to follow the health orders and wear a mask, insisting on having parties during the pandemic and now refuse to get vaccinated? YOU, yourself, are the reason why people are dying. You're are the epitome of selfishness. You insist on ignoring every rule/order/suggestion to slow the spread and now, once we have a vaccine you refuse to take it. You and your kind are literally killing people with your selfishness. Shame on you.
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Mar 01, 2021 10:27 AMThis comment exactly summarizes why we have this problem to begin with and why it will drag on for far too long. The ignorance and lack of education of people continues to confound me.
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Feb 27, 2021 07:42 AMWell that’s nonsensical. Are you anti-vax or just contrary? “They” are “using the words” mutations and variants because that’s what happens with viruses. The more they spread, the more they mutate and the more variants arise. Don’t be afraid, just take action to stop the spread.
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Feb 26, 2021 08:19 PMForgot to mention that I am totally excited and ready to greet my students in person on Thursday. Just frustrated with the bureaucracy.
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Feb 27, 2021 06:42 AMNo like button for me so this is my "like" :)
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Feb 26, 2021 08:18 PMI live in Santa Barbara and teach in Ventura. I got my shot today as did many people I work with. On the other hand, my wife teaches in Santa Barbara. No vaccine in sight for her even though see is going back in person in week. Can't really explain the different between how the counties are vaccinating teachers, but Santa Barbara isn't stepping up to the plate the way others are.
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Feb 27, 2021 06:21 PMIf SB has been using up 87% of the available supply, with the remaining 13% being reserved for 2nd shots, apparently they are doing pretty well. Maybe you want to use up more than 100% of the supply? Maybe that works in your world.
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Feb 26, 2021 10:35 PMIn general, Ventura County has been light years ahead of S. B. since day one of vaccinating people.....
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Feb 26, 2021 10:26 PMWhy on Earth would there be a down vote for this?!
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Feb 26, 2021 07:54 PMGreat; wife and I 65+, signed up for a spot with Cottage, but the on-line process confounded us and we couldn't get through the maze to confirmation. Change your password, enter your order number (what's that?), you have seven minutes...Ding, time's up. Put in a call to them, but don't expect a call-back. They don't have time to talk with individuals. Rollout remains a mess for those of us not Geek enough.
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Feb 27, 2021 11:40 AMJB86, you must have been on the wrong site. There’s no password required for the Cottage sign-up list. Do a search: Vaccine contact list Cottage Hospital. That should lead you to the place where you type in your name, address, email and age. Then you wait until they send you an email telling you they have appointments, click the link they give you, and choose a time.
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Feb 27, 2021 07:37 AMI don’t understand what JB86 is talking about. My entire experience with the Cottage sign up (and subsequent vaccinations) was straightforward and easy. No order numbers requested. Has it changed? The only part that worried me was whether the appointments would be all taken in the two minutes or so it took me to read the instructions and type in my name, birthdate and address. Nothing tricky or difficult though.
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Feb 26, 2021 08:57 PMNot my experience at all. Signed up on the Cottage wait list last week. Got an email this afternoon with a link to a PDL signup site. Picked a date and time from the list presented, then entered the usual (name, address, phone, email) data and clicked the submit button. Email confirmation arrived immediately.
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Feb 26, 2021 07:54 PMfive exchanges per hour - oh no the CDC forgot about that? Crap.
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