COVID-19 Cases Continue to Rise Significantly Among Unvaccinated Residents

Source: Santa Barbara County Public Health Department

COVID-19 cases have reached critically high levels in Santa Barbara County as the local case rate has reached 9.8 cases per 100,000 residents and a positivity rate of 6.9%. With these metrics, Santa Barbara County would be in the purple tier in the now retired tiered framework. These metrics mean that we have widespread community transmission of the delta variant. Over 400 active cases have been detected locally, a 55% increase from the previous 2-week average. As of July 20, over 86% of new cases occurred in unvaccinated community members.
 
 

New cases of COVID-19 have dramatically increased in July and the demographics of those contracting the virus have shifted. Cases in the past month have trended younger with persons 18-29 years of age making up the majority of cases. More cases are now being detected in the southern part of the county which is a contrast from earlier in the pandemic when the majority of new infections occurred in north county. 
 
The Public Health Department strongly advises all community members to follow these strategies:
  • Wear a mask in all indoor spaces outside your home.
  • Stay home if you are ill, even if you have been vaccinated. 
  • Avoid crowded events. 
  • Get vaccinated if you have not done so already.
“As we enter this new phase of the pandemic, the landscape has changed dramatically from last year’s summer surge”, shared Van Do-Reynoso, County Public Health Director. “We have the safe, effective solution to stop this surge in its tracks.  We need every eligible member of this community to act and get vaccinated as soon as possible. There are still 149,688 persons eligible to be vaccinated in Santa Barbara County, who have not been vaccinated.”
 
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  1. The CDC just published a study yesterday (July 30, 2021) and here are the main takeaways, quoted in the CDC’s own words:
    1. “In July 2021, following multiple large public events in a Barnstable County, Massachusetts, town, 469 COVID-19 cases were identified among Massachusetts residents who had traveled to the town”
    2. “Testing identified the Delta variant in 90% of specimens from 133 patients.”
    3. “Approximately three quarters (346; 74%) of cases occurred in fully vaccinated persons”
    4. “Among five COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized, four were fully vaccinated; no deaths were reported.”
    CDC Study (July 30, 2021): https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7031e2.htm?s_cid=mm7031e2_w

  2. BMKLOU, I will, I’ll enjoy my bolstered immune system now that I am fully vaccinated. I’ll live free and wear a mask in indoor shared spaces to protect myself and others because I CARE about people. Keep your FReEDuMb. I’ll be a responsible forward thinking citizen that listens to science.

  3. BIGUGLYSTICK that is correct now at least with Delta. KEYT did an article about what happened in Provincetown recently, where most ppl are vaccinated and majority of positive cases including hospitalizations were vaccinated folks. In other words, despite being vaccinated nothing has really changed, we need to still live the same way we did before but with maybe a little less risk, hopefully, because while you may get flu like symptoms who is to say if things could get bad even if vaccinated. no way to know so, yup, back to square one.

  4. 1006 that is not necessarily true. I am finally traveling back east to see family, long long overdue and planned when numbers were very low and vaccinations up now that is changing. I have elderly family members that I cannot risk infecting and have to make a decision now whether or not this is advisable and I don’t appreciate downplaying the risks to the vaccinated to with this variant especially the elderly who are still at risk. Let’s all be up front and honest here so people can make good decisions without panic or underplaying. You say that well, if I take your advice will you take responsibility for misleading me if I catch it and spread it to my family? Probably not.

  5. A person cannot distance on a plane b/c somehow they got passes through all of this no requirements for spacing [they did it on their own but no more]. So are they issuing travel advisories? No. They keep saying you’ll be fine if you are vaccinated. I hope that is the case now.

  6. @GregOreo, please hurry up and catch a bad case of covid and come sit in the nice isolation ICU hooked up to a vent. This way you can learn the difference between fairy tale phony conspiracy theories and real disease with lasting impacts. But. If you don’t believe in science then please stop using all modern medicine. Thank you for saving us all money. And time.

  7. So with the cases in the vaccinated, what symptoms if any are they having? I have to assume they are symptomatic otherwise they would not get tested. Are they having mild, moderate symptoms and if so, what are they? Are any in the hospital? This is what I’d like to know as I am vaccinated and now worried again. The fact that these are even reported means these people were symptomatic enough to get tested and get a positive result which is worrisome.

  8. PSTARSB how do you know they are asymptomatic? Why would someone who has no symptoms be tested? You cannot be correct logically speaking, they must be having symptoms serious enough to even bother to get tested or to know they were sick to get tested. I am frustrated at the lack of information here. Someone here recently posted they were sick with Covid and vaccinated. This is something we all deserve to know as I did what was asked and now am finding myself worried again.

  9. ANCHOO totally agree. But why would someone need to bet tested for work if they are vaccinated? I am scheduled to fly soon for a long overdue trip to see family which includes older relatives and I’m worried now and wondering if I need to cancel as the last thing I want to do is pick this Delta thing up on the plane and spread it unknowingly. I may end up aysmptomatic but they might now. I also received an email from the CEO of Sansum who said 97% of cases are in the unvaccinated but this now says 86% so more conflicting information. I think they don’t want to tell us b/c they don’t want to discourage vaccination but what they don’t realize is this conflicting/lack of information is fueling the anti vaxxers and making those of us who did what we were asked frustrated and wondering. They need to be more transparent and stop with the conflicting information!!

  10. PSSTAR I am absolutely correct. I wanted to wear a mask and I specifically recall they said it can increase chance of infection if not put on/removed correctly and people touching their face. Here is one example: Feb. 29, 2020
    U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams tweets that wearing a face mask will not prevent the public from contracting the novel coronavirus.
    “Seriously people — STOP BUYING MASKS!” he wrote in a tweet that was later deleted. “They are NOT effective in preventing general public from catching #Coronavirus,

  11. The ignorance on this thread is astounding.
    To understand actual science you have to have an open mind,which is lacking on edhat.
    Oh,and EXPERIENCE which will result in WISDOM.
    In other words listen to your elders.

  12. Bene, those leaked documents do not come as a surprise to me, as I’ve been stating this for many weeks now. The evidence was right there, in public view, if people only bothered to look at the data coming out of the UK. I knew it was only a matter of time before this got out, as the CDC was looking at the same data that I was. Hopefully now people will realize that I was correct, not spreading FUD, and was only trying to warn people of this very real and dangerous situation. Thank you to the very few people who supported me.

  13. 1. One unnecessary death is exactly one two many.
    2. Not all unvaccinated people are unvax’d by choice. Some people have immune disorders, like leukemia, are being treated with medicines that suppress their immune system and these people are at serious risk, especially from unvaccinated by choice people.
    3. Some unvax’d by choice people have bought into conspiracy theories and the fear and misinformation spread on social media. Pitty them, shame them but educating them might help them survive the pandemic.
    4. Do not forget the young people who are not (currently) eligible for the shot.
    5. There is no proof that vaccinated people can spread the virus if they are not clinically sick. A positive PCR tests *is not* proof of infectiousness, only that virus, not necessarily live virus is in your nose. At the moment of the test.
    6. There are a small number of people who get the shot and their immune system does not respond appropriately. Some of those people know who they are, some do not. Vaccination is not a guarantee of immunity. Pretty damn close, though.
    7. If you are vaccinated, there is a 95%+ chance you wont be sick and hospitalized and 100% chance you wont die. (Might be 99.97% because of #6) You will protecting those people in #2,3,4and 6.
    What more info do you need to get the shot. It is the only way this pandemic will end, short of everyone getting sick and a lot more people dying unnecessarily. #1.

  14. Serious question here.
    Vaccinated people are still getting Covid and spreading Covid. The true number is unknown because most are asymptomatic or they think they have a cold.
    A person who had Covid has natural immunity and passes along a weakened Covid to people do those people’s natural immunity can build.
    How does vaccinations help herd immunity if the Vaccinated are Passie g along a full viral load of Covid?

  15. ANDREA SMITH: to find that article you had to bypass multiple more recent articles that say he reversed his stance weeks after that and has remained a staunch supporter of wearing masks, urging the public again and afain to wear them. His most recent interview from 2 weeks ago includes him not only urging the unvaccinated to wear masks, but asking the CDC to mandate masks for the vaccinated as well.
    He tweeted 2 weeks ago:
    Jerome Adams
    @JeromeAdamsMD
    Last year Tony Fauci and I famously, prematurely, & wrongly advised against masks. I felt it was the best call at the time, but now regret it.
    I’m worried the CDC also made a similarly premature, misinterpreted, yet still harmful call on masking in the face of ⬆️ delta variant.
    4:15 PM · Jul 17, 2021
    Source:
    The CDC Must Rethink Its Mask Guidance, Says Former U.S. Surgeon General
    https://www.npr.org/2021/07/20/1018226099/the-highly-contagious-delta-variant-is-pushing-u-s-coronavirus-cases-higher

  16. Actually, I am a researcher and scientist, but I am far from being a “leading authority.” No one is. I accept that some of the data gathering is flawed and there’s a lot of issues not perfectly clear. Humble enough?
    That “leaked study” is seriously flawed and peer review has cited that. But a virus is a virus and this one is behaving exactly as science would expect. You know this is not the first pandemic to affect humans, right? It is undeniably correct that globally, after 4 billion shots in the arms of 2.4 billion people, 99.997% of vaccinated people do not die. It is also true that a similar number have had no adverse effects. The vaccine is a friggin’ miracle and the only way out of this, other than allowing millions more people to be infected and die. Masks, as we use them, wont hardly make a dent in the long term.
    It is highly unlikely that vaccinated people without active disease, which is somewhere above 95% of them, perhaps 99%, can spread the virus. Unlikely, not impossible, not proved either way. But remember: it takes only one vaccinated person with a reasonable, if only temporary virus load in their nose, even if it is only for the day until their immune system cancels the virus, to infect up to 10 other *unvaccinated* people. How much does that contribute to the pandemic? A drop in the pool. It is absolutely correct that it is the unvaccinated population that is spreading the disease. And being hospitalized. And dying. As I wrote, one death is one too many because it is preventable. Be more concerned about those who are unable to get vaccinated because they are under age 12, immunocompromised, disadvantaged due to their color, socioeconomic situation, difficulty managing transportation, child care, stuff like that.
    It is everyone else’s responsibility to get the shot to protect them. Or wear a properly fitted, properly handled N95 mask 100% of the time you around anyone. I did that at the airport and on the airplane. I’m very confident I’m vaccine- protected. I did it to protect others who may not be.

  17. VOR, how many more dead Americans in excess of normal death rates are you willing to live with? Was 3000 a week in January too many? Is the current average of 200-300 too many? Not to mention the stress on our nurses and doctors and the long term effects on many of the survivors. And you have a driver’s license and pay taxes, right? I’m surprised you let the US government infringe on your freedoms like that.

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