City of Benicia on NextDoor, Communications, Office of Economic Development Teri Davena, January 30, 2021 around 9pm
COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Now Full. Due to overwhelming demand, the schedule of for the Benicia COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic for Seniors on Tuesday, February 2, is now full.
Solano Public Health is working daily to schedule additional vaccine events. If you would like to add your name to an interest list to be notified of upcoming local vaccination clinics, go to www.tinyurl.com/beniciavaccine.
As vaccinations bring the first flicker of light at the end of the Covid tunnel, the emergence of more transmissible and somewhat vaccine-resistant variants seem to stand in the way.
But there’s a path forward. In fact, as a matter of both principle and self-preservation, it’s the only path: Go global. Get the whole world vaccinated much more quickly than currently planned.
Going global is vital because, as explained in a recent Washington Post article, “A [coronavirus] mutation in any location [on the planet] will likely spread everywhere.” Inoculations in America will buy valuable time. But until we control Covid via worldwide vaccinations, we may have to keep striving to stay one step ahead of such mutations.
Drawing in part on a fine Foreign Affairs article decrying “vaccine nationalism,” a Fareed Zakaria op-ed accordingly makes a case for a massive international effort to inoculate the entire world as soon as possible. Among his primary points:
“[O]ur current trajectory [which features a much faster vaccine roll-out for richer nations than the rest of the world] virtually guarantees that we will never really defeat the coronavirus. It will stay alive and keep mutating and surging across the globe.”
“The basic problem is in how the vaccine is being distributed around the world — not based on where there is the most need, but the most money…Rich countries make up 16 percent of the world’s population, yet they have locked up 60 percent of the world’s vaccine supply.”
“Duke University researchers say [that at the currently planned vaccination rate] many developing countries will not be fully vaccinated until 2024, which means the virus will have years to spread and mutate. In their annual letter, Bill and Melinda Gates note that low- and middle-income countries will be able to vaccinate only 1 out of every 5 people by the end of 2021.”
“The International Chamber of Commerce has released a study showing that this lopsided vaccination of the world will cause global economic losses of $1.5 trillion to $9.2 trillion, of which half could be borne by the richest countries…Another study estimates that for every dollar rich countries invest in vaccines for the developing world, they would get back about $5 in economic output.”
“Bollyky and Bown lay out an excellent plan in Foreign Affairs. They argue that the United States should use the lessons from Operation Warp Speed to ramp up production and distribution of the vaccine worldwide…There is now a global vaccination effort to help developing countries, COVAX, which provides a powerful framework for action. President Donald Trump refused to join this effort [surprise, surprise] despite the participation of over 180 nations, but President Biden has reversed that decision.”
Ramping Up
Biden can and probably will do more. The question is whether he, other world leaders and pharmaceutical firms will commit to doing much, much more, by bolstering vaccine production and distribution to inoculate the entire planet well before 2024.
A key step would be to persuade or compel such firms to convert existing facilities into plants that manufacture Covid vaccines or other supplies crucial to the inoculation efforts. There’s already a precedent for this: A French firm, Sanofi, is making a Frankfurt pharmaceutical plant available to increase production of Pfizer’s vaccine.
Where persuasion or shared profit-making prove insufficient incentives for drug makers to boost production via factory conversion, Biden could invoke the Defense Production Act to force them to do so. His staff was reportedly considering that option during the transition period and is continuing those deliberations now.
Neither Gleeful Nor Glum
Word of the potentially more dangerous South African variant, and of other new strains, might make us wonder whether we can get a handle on the pandemic’s spread in America, much less the rest of the world. This is indeed cause for concern, putting us in a “race to vaccinate” in order to limit the spreads of such strains. The recent decisions of California and other states to start opening up again could prove premature, to put it mildly.
But there’s good news. With research findings indicating the Johnson & Johnson vaccine protects against Covid – albeit not quite as well as the Pfizer and Moderna drugs or as well against the South African variant as it does against other strains – the potential for ramped-up supplies to reach all of the world just became much more realizable.
For one thing, unlike those other two companies’ products, the J&J vaccine requires only one dose. It also differs in that it need not be stored at ultra-low temperatures, a crucial consideration for much of the world. Finally, even at lesser overall efficacy, it still seems very effective at preventing severe illness and extremely effective at preventing death.
There are yet more reasons to be, if not gleeful, then not entirely glum regarding prospects for protecting both America and the world. More vaccines are already available to various degrees abroad, or are on the way. And the technology utilized for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is such that they can be adapted to fight virus variants in about six weeks (though regulatory and manufacturing hurdles can add time to their becoming widely available).
To be clear, ongoing vigilance and extra precautions against the new variants are well warranted. More people, perhaps many more, may die because of those mutations. My main point here is that we should not give up on helping the rest of the world, regardless of what happens here in coming months. In fact, a turn for the worse here is all the more reason to go global.
Principle and Self-preservation
A case for aiding the entire human race does not only boil down to humanitarian principle – though saving millions of lives sounds pretty persuasive to me. Since Covid could remain a looming threat here as long as it surges elsewhere, self-interest and self-preservation might be the better selling points for those Americans (and other nationalities) who insist that “charity begins at home.” (That’s why, regarding another global challenge, Biden often frames fighting climate change in terms of jobs.)
Regardless, the battle against Covid demonstrates that we can’t hide behind the “America First” wall that fortunately lost out in November but still haunts this land. It’s not just Covid and our health, as crucial as they are. To a good degree, our economy, environment and security hinge on how the rest of the world is doing.
As Bill and Melinda Gates put it, “[L]ike it or not, we’re all in this together.”
Benicia resident Stephen Golub offers excellent perspective on his blog, A Promised Land: Politics. Policy. America as a Developing Country. To access his other posts or subscribe, please go to his blog site, A Promised Land.
New case totals for the month of January and daily averages BY CITY (below).
Get vaccinated! Otherwise, stay home whenever possible – this is not over!
Friday, January 29: 220 new Solano cases overnight, and again, no new deaths. Since Feb: 27,706 cases, over 820 hospitalized, 122 deaths.Compare previous report, Thursday, Jan. 28:Summary
Solano County reported 220 new cases overnight, total of 27,706 cases since the outbreak started. In the first 29 days of January, Solano has added 8,495 new cases, for an AVERAGE of 293 new cases per day.
Deaths – for the first time since January 15, the County reported no new deaths; a total of 122 Solano deaths since the pandemic began. There have been 17 COVID-related deaths in Solano County over the last 10 days, two individuals aged 18-49 years, 15 others over 65 years of age. While many other COVID stats are improving, the recent surge in deaths is the final sad result of our holiday surge.
Active cases – Solano reported 53 more active cases today, a total of 1,558 active cases. Compare: Solano’s average number of Active Cases during October was 284, average in November was 650, in December 1,658 – and TODAY we are at 1,558. Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons? Or do we just sit back and wait for a voluntary 10 day quarantine to expire. Who knows? To my knowledge, Solano has offered no reports on contact tracing.
Hospitalizations –(See expanding ICU capacity and ventilator availablity below.) Today, Solano reported no change in the number of currently hospitalized cases, total of 137. Also no change today in the number of hospitalizations among age groups. (The County posted its “occasional” large group of updated numbers on hospitalizations among the age groups this week, adding 5 in the 50-64 year age group and 12 more in the 65+ age group, for a total of 820 hospitalized in all age groups since the pandemic began.) Even then, accuracy cannot be certain – note… >>In a December 31 Fairfield Daily Republic article, reporter Todd Hanson wrote, “Since the start of the pandemic, and as of Wednesday, 9,486 residents have been hospitalized.” This startling number isfar and away above the number of residents hospitalized as indicated in the count of age group hospitalizations, and not available anywhere on the County’s COVID-19 dashboard.Asked about his source, Hanson replied that Solano Public Health “had to do a little research on my behalf.” It would be good if the County could add Total Hospitalized to its daily Dashboard update. [For the numbers used in my manual calculation of total hospitalizations, see age group stats below. For COVID19-CA.GOV numbers, see BenIndy page, COVID-19 Hospitalizations Daily Update for Solano County.]
Ventilators available – This week, for the first time since July 24 of last year, Solano County is reporting the percentage of ventilators available. Today Solano hospitals have 49% of ventilators available, up from 41% yesterday but down substantially from last summer’s reports of 82-94% available.
Positive Test Rate – SOLANO TEST RATE REMAINS ALARMINGLY HIGH, 16.9% – VIRUS STILL SPREADING, STAY HOME!
Solano County reported our 7-day average positive test at an alarming rate of 16.9%, same as yesterday, and still more than 2 times the State’s purple tier threshold of 8%. Average percent positive test rates are among the best metrics for measuring community spread of the virus. COMPARE: The much lower and more stable California 7-day average test rate was down slightly from yesterday’s 7.5% to 7.4% today. (Note that Solano County displays past weeks and months in a 7-day test positivity line graph which also shows daily results. However, the chart does not display an accurate number of cases for the most recent days, as there is a lag time in receiving test results. The 7-day curve therefore also lags behind due to unknown recent test results.)
By Age Group
Youth 17 and under – 21 new cases overnight, total of 3,213 cases, representing 11.6% of the 27,706 total cases. No new hospitalizations reported today among this age group, total of 17 since the outbreak began. Thankfully, no deaths have ever been reported in Solano County in this age group. But cases among Solano youth rose steadily over the summer, from 5.6% of total cases on June 8 to 11% on August 31 and has plateaued at over 11% since September 30. Youth are 22% of Solano’s general population, so this 11% may seem low. The significance is this: youth are SERIOUSLY NOT IMMUNE (!) – in fact at least 17 of our youth have been hospitalized since the outbreak began.
Persons 18-49 years of age – 109 new cases overnight, total of 15,292 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 55.2% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 241 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. Solano recorded no new deaths in this young group today, total of 9 deaths. Some in this group are surely at high risk, as many are providing essential services among us, and some may be ignoring public health orders. I expect this group is a major factor in the spread of the virus.
Persons 50-64 years of age – 69 new cases overnight, total of 5,801 cases. This age group represents 20.9% of the 27,706 total cases. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 222 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths were reported in this age group today, a total of 18 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 21 new cases overnight, total of 3,389, representing 12.2% of Solano’s 27,706 total cases. The County reported no new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today, a total of 340 hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths were reported in this age group today. A total of 95 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 78%of Solano’s 122 total deaths.
City Data
Benicia added 8 new cases overnight, total of 782 cases since the outbreak began. 274 new cases in January, avg. of 9.5 per day.
Dixon added 7 new cases overnight, total of 1,645 cases. 424 new cases in January, avg. of 15 per day.
Fairfield added 33 new cases overnight, total of 7,623 cases. 2,180 new cases in January, avg. of 75 per day.
Rio Vista added 2 new cases today, total of 264 cases. 99 new cases in January, avg. of 3 per day.
Suisun City added 9 new cases overnight, total of 1,888 cases. 542 new cases in January, avg. of 19 per day.
Vacaville added 88 new cases overnight, total of 7,311 cases. 2,457 new cases in January, avg. of 85 per day.
Vallejoadded 73 new cases overnight, total of 8107 cases. 2,494 new cases in January, avg. of 86 per day.
Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 86 cases. 25 new cases in January, avg. of nearly 1 per day.
Race / Ethnicity
The County report on race / ethnicity includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics. This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate significantly worse outcomes among black and brown Americans. Note that all of this data surely undercounts Latinx Americans, as there is a large group of “Multirace / Others” which likely is composed mostly of Latinx members of our communities.
Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases, 12% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases, but 17% of hospitalizations, and 22% of deaths.
Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 13% of cases, 22% of hospitalizations, and 15% of deaths.
Multi-race / Others are 7% of Solano’s population, but account for 35% of cases, 18% of hospitalizations, and 12% of deaths.
White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 29% of cases, 30% of hospitalizations and 34% of deaths.
Benicia COVID-10 Vaccine Clinic for Senior (75+) on Tuesday. The City of Benicia is very excited to offer a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for Solano County seniors (aged 75 and above) on Tuesday, February 2, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Benicia Senior Center.
Sign ups are required. Please share the flyer to your networks to get our senior family members, friends and neighbors signed up as soon as possible at www.tinyurl.com/beniciavaccine. Check-in will be at Benicia City Gym.
Those with questions, or needing assistance signing up can call 707.746.4710. City staff and members of Carquinez Village will be staffing the phone lines Friday thru Tuesday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Pop Up Vaccination Clinic for Seniors. The City is holding a vaccination clinic for seniors over 75 on next Tuesday, Feb 2, from 9-4 at the Senior Center. Appointments are required. Sign up at www.tinyurl.com/BENICIAVACCINE.
Email from Elizabeth Patterson:
Vaccination Clinic at the Senior Center
Tuesday, February 2
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Must have an appointment!
Vaccines will be given to those aged 75 years and older only.
Proof of age and Solano County residency is required at check-in.
Vaccine second dose will be given in approximately 28 days. Details to follow.
Temperatures will be taken at arrival.
Masks will be required to be worn at all times.
Social distancing will be required at all times.
Please plan to arrive at City Gym no more than 15 minutes early.
Prepare for approximately 1 hour to complete the vaccination process.
Drivers should keep in contact with their senior for easy pick up. Pick up in front of Library. Help keep traffic moving.
Due to limited space, only one caretaker is allowed with senior being vaccinated. (Caretaker will not receive a vaccine.)
City of Benicia on NextDoor, Communications, Office of Economic Development Teri Davena, January 30, 2021 around 9pm
You must be logged in to post a comment.