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In this year’s final ‘Media Availability’ question and answer from the Humboldt County Joint Information Center, the health officer answered dr. Ian Hoffman questions about the new and apparently more contagious coronavirus variant, the rate at which vaccines are administered in Humboldt. more.
Stay tuned for the end of the video to see that Health Staff members wish you a Happy New Year.
Video above, rough transcript below.
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The North Coast News asks: ‘Is there testing for the new variant in Humboldt County with the news of a new coronavirus variant moving from the UK to the US? Can current testing methods detect this, and if so, will the country release data on when the variant will be discovered here? ‘
Yes, really a good question. Something that has come up to me a lot in the last few days. We know it’s not just in the US but also in California. There are reports from San Diego that there are four cases that have been detected there. It’s in several states across the US, and we’re testing it locally.
There are tests available, and I’ll let you know if I keep them posted.
The North Coast News asks: “The Washington Post reported yesterday that about 20% of the coronavirus vaccines actually distributed have been administered. Do these numbers also reflect the province of Humboldt? Why, or why not, do the numbers differ? ”
I would say our numbers here are probably much higher than that. Do we currently have approximately 5,500 vaccines in Humboldt County? The vast majority of those go to St. Joseph’s hospital system. They got just over 2,000 of them. And they applied it as quickly as possible.
They also run a hospital; they see the vast majority of COVID patients in Humboldt County. They went through about 1,200 of them, so more than 50% of their 2,000.
In addition, other hospitals have gone through thousands more, so I think it is safe to say that we are very close to 50% of the vaccine we have in the country, and that we are working hard to get the rest of it as fast as possible. .
The North Coast News asks, “Are there local statistics on the effects on mental health caused by the pandemic?”
This is really a great question. I have to say I do not have the answer to that. I would suspect that the Department of Health and Human Services would possibly do this, and therefore I would address the question to them.