The COVID-19 numbers in San Diego County are in the right direction, even though the province has reported 539 new infections from the virus and 57 deaths, according to recent reports from the country.
San Diego County Superintendent Nathan Fletcher said Wednesday that an issue over the vaccine supply chain over the past weekend shows how thin the margins are for delays and errors in the system. The winter storm that hit much of the country has also put a damper on some vaccine appointments.
Due to delays in transporting vaccines to San Diego, the province is planning about 1,000 first-dose appointments at its sites Thursday and Friday. Those affected will be notified that they will be rescheduled for next week.
Of the 765,500 vaccine doses the country has received, 663,194 have been administered, more than 3,000 are awaiting processing and 98,000 are accounted for by appointments.
“You can see we’re running very, very thin,” Fletcher said.
Every day, the province discusses a portion of the available vaccines for COVID-19 for a pilot project aimed at distributing the new coronavirus vaccine fairly.
The vaccination scheduling assistance suggests appointments for people in the group who are currently eligible and at high risk for COVID-19 complications.
“We need to make sure that communities that are excessively affected by COVID-19 have easier access to the vaccine,” said Dr. Wilma Wooten, provincial public health officer, said. “This project makes it easier for people who qualify to make appointments and get vaccinated.”
The province now has five vaccine stations and 15 smaller distribution sites, according to the Agency for Health and Human Services. Despite the problems in the supply chain, Fletcher said the province has allocated its vaccines effectively enough to believe that teachers, food and agricultural workers and law enforcement will be able to receive vaccinations by the first week of March.
In addition, the HHSA expects to complete vaccinations this week in the province’s competent nursing facilities, freeing mobile teams to offer more shots in the country. In total, approximately 17.6% of the province’s population older than 16 years received at least one dose of the vaccine and 5% were fully vaccinated.
Wednesday’s data has increased the number of COVID-19 infections to 254,180 since the pandemic began, while the death toll has risen to 3,099.
The 57 deaths – one of the highest daily deaths locally – are a reminder of the deadly severity of the pandemic, Fletcher said, but are likely due to the decline of a significant increase in the case in December and January.
The number of hospitalizations decreased by only four patients to 804, while intensive care patients decreased by 10 to 256 from the number on Tuesday. There are 57 available ICU beds in the country.
Of 13,771 tests reported on Wednesday, 4% returned positive, bringing the moving average of 14 days of positive tests to 5.5%.
On Tuesday, the number of new cases in the province dropped enough to enable elementary schools to resume their own tuition for students in kindergarten up to sixth grade.
According to the state’s weekly COVID-19 update, San Diego County’s adjusted rate is 22.2 cases per 100,000 residents. The state allows elementary schools to reopen once provinces reach an adjusted average daily dropout rate of 25 per 100,000 residents.
However, personal classes cannot be resumed for the seventh grade until the COVID-19 cases in the country drop to seven per 100,000 inhabitants.
San Diego County’s seven-day test positivity rate is 6.4%, which puts the country at the red level of the benchmark four-level reopening plan. The state uses the country’s worst measure – in this case the adjusted rate – and gives provinces the level.
The province’s benchmark for health equality, which looks at the positive testing for areas with the lowest healthy conditions, is 9.7% and is in the press level. This criterion does not move provinces to more restrictive levels, but is necessary to progress to a less restrictive level.
Updated at 11:30 18 February 2021
–City news service
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