Some confusion, but you CAN sign up for a future vaccination
You can’t just walk in or phone for an appointment, but you can REGISTER ONLINE for a future vaccine:
Solano County 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, click here. This will take you to the County’s “COVID Vaccine Interest Form.” Fill it in, and if you qualify and when vaccine is available, someone will contact you to schedule an appointment. Currently the County is vaccinating only those over 75.
More information on Solano’s vaccine program is available here.
One alternative for some of us…
I happen to know that NorthBay Medical Center (in Fairfield and Vacaville) is running an incredibly efficient vaccination program for those over 65 who are currently under care of a NorthBay primary care doctor. My wife and I were invited quickly by email and phone text, and seen for our first shot within days. More information here.
By Roger Straw, February 3, 2021 NOTE:The Benicia Happenings Facebook information about a mass vaccination event on Feb. 5-6 the Fairgrounds in Vallejo is verified here: solanocounty.com/depts/ph/coronavirus_links/covid_19_vaccines.aspBUT… You will not find details about the location or timing on there on the County’s vaccination page. The ONLY WAY TO GET VACCINATED AT THE COUNTY’S VACCINATION EVENT IS TO REGISTER. CLICK ON “COVID-19 VACCINATION FORM” NEAR THE TOP OF THE PAGE. The County will contact you when you are eligible for a vaccination appointment.
Solano County plans to open a mass vaccination clinic at the fairgrounds in Vallejo this Friday and Saturday. County residents 75 and older and those in Tier One are eligible. Please get yourself registered as soon as possible, and encourage others. Those eligible will be notified tomorrow.
Solano Public Health >>To receive notification about the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine when it is made available to certain phases and tiers, please fill out the vaccine interest form here: http://bit.ly/SolanoVaccineInterestForm
Solano is still in the PURPLE tier – the virus is still spreading and deadly. This is not over!
Wednesday, February 3: 120 new Solano cases overnight, 2 new deaths. Since February 2020: 28,410 cases, over 835 hospitalized, 129 deaths.Compare previous report, Tuesday, February 2:Summary
Solano County reported 120 new cases overnight, total of 28,410 cases since the outbreak started. In the month of January, Solano added 8,495 new cases, for an AVERAGE of 274 new cases per day.
Deaths – the County reported 2 new deaths today, both over 65 years of age; a total of 129 Solano deaths since the pandemic began. 5 new COVID deaths were reported yesterday – what’s going on?! In the month of January, Solano recorded 24 coronavirus deaths, for an AVERAGE of nearly 1 per day. While many other COVID stats are improving, the recent surge in deaths is no doubt the final sad result of our holiday surge.
Active cases – Solano reported 15 more active cases today, a total of 1,173 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 1,173. Is the County equipped to contact trace so many infected persons? My guess is 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 availability below.) Today, Solano reported 2 fewer currently hospitalized cases, total of 116. However, in the number of hospitalizations among age groups, the county reported an increase of 7 new hospitalizations. The County reported 1 new hospitalization in the 18-49 year age group, 4 hospitalizations in the 50-64 year age group and 2 more in the 65+ age group, for a total of 839 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 County’s 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 – Last week, for the first time since July 24 of last year, Solano County is reporting the percentage of ventilators available. Today Solano hospitals have 65% of ventilators available, up noticeably from yesterday’s 51% but down substantially from last summer’s reports of 82-94% available.
Positive Test Rate – SOLANO TEST RATE REMAINS ALARMINGLY HIGH, 14.7% – VIRUS STILL SPREADING, STAY HOME!
Solano County reported our 7-day average positive test at an alarming rate of 14.7%, up from yesterday’s 14.4%, and well above 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 from yesterday’s 6.4% to 6.1% 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 – 7 new cases overnight, total of 3,284 cases, representing 11.6% of the 28,410 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 – 76 new cases overnight, total of 15,691 cases. This age group is 41% of the population in Solano, but represents 55.3% of the total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups. The County reported 1 new hospitalization among persons in this age group today. A total of 243 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 – 23 new cases overnight, total of 5,949 cases. This age group represents 20.9% of the 28,410 total cases. The County reported 4 new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today. A total of 228 are reported to have been hospitalized since the outbreak began. No new deaths were reported in this age group today, a total of 19 deaths.
Persons 65 years or older – 14 new cases overnight, total of 3,475, representing 12.2% of Solano’s 28,410 total cases. The County reported 2 new hospitalizations among persons in this age group today, a total of 351 hospitalized since the outbreak began. 2 new deaths were reported in this age group today. A total of 101 of our elders have died of COVID, accounting for 78%of Solano’s 129 total deaths.
City Data
Benicia added 2 new cases overnight, total of 807 cases since the outbreak began.
Dixon added 4 new cases overnight, total of 1,683 cases.
Fairfield added 23 new cases overnight, total of 7,778 cases.
Rio Vista added 4 new cases overnight, total of 272 cases.
Suisun City added 1 new case overnight, total of 1,911 cases.
Vacaville added 34 new cases overnight, total of 7,516 cases.
Vallejoadded 52 new cases overnight, total of 8,357 cases.
Unincorporated areas remained steady today, total of 86 cases.
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 23% of deaths.
Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 13% of cases, 21% of hospitalizations, and 14% 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 33% of deaths.
Ferrucci criticizes negativity on social media and distances herself from the recall effort organized by a family member of the same last name.
Diane Ferrucci, BUSD Trustee
On February 1, I wrote here on the Benicia Independent, “As of yesterday and as far as I can determine, past president Ferrucci has not come out to say that the recall is misguided. Nor has she called on her daughter-in-law to stop the effort, but has stood back and let the recall unfold. Power play? (Stay tuned – if I hear otherwise, I’ll correct it here.)”
I wish to correct my statement here today.
Today, February 3, on her Facebook page, Trustee Ferrucci took a public position criticizing speculation on social media as to her involvement, and clarifying her opposition to the recall campaign.
As a resident in this community for 40 years and an educator for almost 50 years, I am appalled at the negativity on social media.
It has come to my attention that some may believe that the recall campaign focused on two school board members is my doing. This assumption could not be further from the truth.
Simply because I share a last name with a parent involved in the recall process does not mean that I am involved in or endorse this approach. I do not believe a recall vote is in the best interest of our community. I am truly sorry that this is happening to anyone.
Ferrucci’s criticism of “negativity on social media” could refer to my having posted my February 1 opinion on Benicia Nextdoor, and multiple posts by other concerned Benicia parents and residents.
I welcome Ferrucci’s opposition to a misguided and expensive effort to unseat two respected members of Benicia’s School Board. It would be great if all five of the current Trustees could issue a joint statement of opposition.
Meanwhile everyone: DON’T SIGN THE RECALL PETITION!
Here is the full text of Ferrucci’s Feb. 3 statement:
As a resident in this community for 40 years and an educator for almost 50 years, I am appalled at the negativity on social media.
It has come to my attention that some may believe that the recall campaign focused on two school board members is my doing. This assumption could not be further from the truth.
Simply because I share a last name with a parent involved in the recall process does not mean that I am involved in or endorse this approach. I do not believe a recall vote is in the best interest of our community. I am truly sorry that this is happening to anyone.
I do find it contradictory to the democratic ideals of our country that some people feel I should use my family connection to stop any parent from lawfully expressing their opinions about school issues. As an elected official, I believe every voice deserves to be heard and when being board president was my role, I made it my practice to review and respond to the comments of each member of our constituency to the best of my ability even when the author did not agree with me.
The idea that I would spur this recall campaign for political gain is also a falsehood. Each trustee represents a specific geographic area of the city. Recalling one member of the Board means that another person from that area would need to be appointed or elected to the seat.
The Board is structured to allow for growth by moving through different leadership and committee positions including clerk and president. I have served my term per our bylaws in these positions with integrity and see the wisdom in having other Board members step up, learn and serve in these roles.
As one parent recently wrote to us, “Board members have a responsibility to the students, their families, the teachers, and the staff.” Like her, I believe that we are responsible to all of our constituents, and I would hope that members of the community and my colleagues on the Board, would agree that all of our constituents deserve to have their opinions recognized and fairly addressed. While some may write more eloquently than others, in the end, we are all working toward what we believe is best for our students. We, as Board members, however, must weigh and balance all of the community concerns with the needs of our students, the state and federal guidance, and the goals of the district to make decisions that lead BUSD forward.
To fail to recognize any of these voices only creates further discord in these already difficult times.
We must work together keep what’s best for the success of our students in the forefront.
Since this is my personal statement, I would appreciate no comments.
Solano County 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, click here. This will take you to the County’s “COVID Vaccine Interest Form.” Fill it in, and if you qualify and when vaccine is available, someone will contact you to schedule an appointment. Currently the County is vaccinating only those over 75.
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