Public Health Officials Provide COVID-19 Vaccination Update

By edhat staff

Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) officials provided an update on the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and vaccinations in the county.

During Friday afternoon’s press conference, PHD Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso announced 63% of the county’s residents aged 75 and older have received their COVID-19 vaccine, and 79% of residents ages 65-74 have received at least one dose in the two-dose process.

Of all the county’s vaccine allocations, 88.5% have been administered and the remaining are reserved for upcoming appointments.

The COVID-19 positive case rate has decreased by 23% in the past week, however, recently the cases have plateaued. Dr. Do-Reynoso stressed that residents must continue to be diligent and follow the guidelines so the downward trend can continue. If locals are able to do that, we should be in the less restrictive orange tier within a week or two, she said.

As previously reported, the state has opened up vaccine eligibility to those age 50 and over on April 1st. However, PHD is offering vaccines even earlier starting on March 28 at a Community Vaccination Clinic. The event will run through April 3. Eligible community members can sign up on the PHD website or by calling 2-1-1 and pressing option 4 for assistance.

On April 15, anyone age 16 and over is eligible to receive a vaccine as well. PHD will be hosting another community clinic within the county starting on April 12 and residents will also be able to sign up for that event early as well. 

Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg reported UC Santa Barbara has partnered with local hospitals to analyze COVID-19 data concerning variants and mutations of the virus. A new area of the community data dashboard is now dedicated to their findings.

He stated the three approved COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against any of these mutations. 

More information can be found at publichealthsbc.org.