Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine booster

Solano County plans for mass booster vaccination clinics in October

[BenIndy Editor: Note that local pharmacies are ALREADY offering boosters to those who received the Pfizer vaccine, six months after their second dose.  I got mine on Saturday!  Eligibility includes those ages 65+ and those ages 18 to 64 with underlying health conditions or at high risk for occupational or institutional exposure.  To schedule an appointment, see CVS or Rite Aid.  – R.S.]

Solano Public Health ready to move forward on mass booster vaccination program

Fairfield Daily Republic, by Todd R. Hansen. September 29, 2021

FAIRFIELD — Solano County Public Health expects to hold 32 mass Covid-19 booster vaccination clinics starting in mid-October.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a $1.7 million contract with Hammond Entertainment Productions LLC through Jan. 15 to provide logistical support at the clinics at the Solano County fairgrounds in Vallejo.

The board also approved a $1.95 million appropriations transfer to recognize unanticipated revenue from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to increase Covid-19 vaccination services.

The county is also expanding to five days its testing and vaccine clinic at the Solano Town Center mall in Fairfield.

About two-thirds of Solano County residents 12 or older have been fully vaccinated, and 77% of that population has received at least one shot, the county reported.

Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County Health Officer

Dr. Bela Matyas, the county public health officer, gave the board a breakdown of how the booster programs are going to work.

The county is already giving “third vaccine doses” to those who are immunocompromised, noting the care not to use booster in the description because of regulatory requirements.

The actual booster program will target about 200,000 residents, starting with those 65 or older, and those 18 to 64 who are at high risk for illness. Matyas expects about 125,000 to take advantage of the program.

The next group will be long-term care facility employees, medical staff and first-responders.

With the help of Kaiser Permanente, Matyas said the county expects to get to all 150 long-term care facilities in the county by mid-October.

“That has already begun,” Matyas said.

The county will be offering the normal vaccine programs for those who are unvaccinated, and will include flu shots when possible. The limiting issue there is flu vaccine, but the county hopes to get help from its partners, such as hospitals and pharmacies.

The biggest concern for the success of the booster program is whether there are enough medical staff and related volunteers to conduct the clinics due to the shortage of medical personnel.

“The traveling nurse organizations are telling us no one wants to be a traveling nurse anymore,” Matyas said.

Moreover, the deadline for all personnel at medical facilities to be vaccinated is Thursday. If they do not get vaccinated, they cannot return to work.

Matyas said he does not think that is going to be a problem in Solano County, but other areas could be greatly affected, and that, in turn, will create more competition for other resources the county has hired for its mass clinics and its pop-up clinics, which are also planned.

Matyas also noted that Pfizer expects to seek emergency approval for a vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old, and the county is gearing up to go to schools when that is approved.

#wearamask, Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

Solano County: Monday’s numbers were a fluke, surge not over yet

By Roger Straw, Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Wednesday, September 29: Solano County reports 3 deaths and 270 new infections.

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: 3 new COVID-related deaths today, one age 50-64 and 2 over 65.  The County’s update of deaths by race / ethnicity increased by 4 today, including 2 Asians, 1 Black and 1 White.  (Reasons for the discrepancy unknown.)  Total Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now at 297.  The County reported 9 new deaths last week and 27 so far in September:

Total deaths by age and race/ethnicity:

CASES: The County reported  270 new COVID cases in just the last 2 days, 135 per day.  Last week’s average was 152 per day, so Monday’s standout report of only 16 per day over the weekend was surely incomplete or erroneous.

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 460 new cases, back into the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate after only 1 Solano dashboard report placing the County below that level.

(CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days.  Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission.  Reference: CDC’s “Level of SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission”.]

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 537 ACTIVE cases are a significant increase over Monday’s 412, and far above our summer rates.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 7.2% today, up significantly from Monday’s low of 5.6%.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.1%. Today’s U.S. rate is 7.0%.  [Source: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracking Center]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down today from 61 to 54 persons, but still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability is down today, from 24% to 22%, and still the yellow danger zone.  Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability went down slightly today from 54% to 53%, still in the range of last February’s winter surge.

TOTAL hospitalizations  Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.  The County adjusted its Hospitalizations charts today, adding 1 (or maybe 2) hospitalizations.  See below.  The race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.  All percentages remain unchanged.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate that went into effect on August 24 and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

THE SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE on Tuesday, September 14.  The Board’s agenda called for discussion of an indoors mask mandate for all and a vaccination mandate for county workers.  The Board voted 4-1 to require county-run facilities in Vallejo and Benicia to abide by local mandates.  But the Board voted down the vaccination mandate 3-2, and failed to even consider the agendized question of a county-wide mask mandate.  The Solano Board of Supervisors joined with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Wednesday, September 29:
  • Benicia added 9 new cases today, a total of 1,422 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 14 new cases over the last 7 days, very nearly dropping (for the first time since July 14) below the CDC’s definition of SUBSTANTIAL community transmission (defined as 14-28 cases, based on Benicia population).  [Note that Solano County is at a level of HIGH transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
  • Dixon added 17 new cases today, total of 2,465 cases.
  • Fairfield added 63 new cases today, total of 11,884 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 7 new cases today, total of 568 cases.
  • Suisun City added 21 new cases today, total of 3,142 cases.
  • Vacaville added 60 new cases today, a total of 11,647 cases.
  • Vallejo added 93! new cases today, a total of 12,988 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 137 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading Solano County: Monday’s numbers were a fluke, surge not over yet →

#wearamask, Benicia CA, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Face coverings, Hospitalizations, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Department, Vaccine

COVID infections slowing in Solano, but County records 4 new deaths and 31 hospitalizations

By Roger Straw, Monday, September 27, 2021

Monday, September 27: Solano County reports only 48 new infections over the weekend, but adds 4 deaths and 31 hospitalizations

Solano County COVID dashboard SUMMARY:
[Sources: see below.]

DEATHS: 4 new COVID-related deaths today.  Total Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now at 294.  The County reported 9 new deaths last week and 24 so far in September:

Total deaths by age and race/ethnicity:

CASES: The County reported  only 48 new COVID cases over the 3- day weekend, 16 per day.  We have not seen numbers this low since June 16.  I hope it’s accurate, but it’s such a quick drop that it does make me wonder if there was a mistake!

COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 402 new cases, dropping for the first time since July 21 slightly below the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH transmission rate.  Solano is now at the upper limit of the CDC’s SUBSTANTIAL rate of transmission.

(CDC FORMULA: Based on Solano County population of 449,432, the CDC would rate us in “SUBSTANTIAL” transmission with 225 cases over the last 7 days.  Double that, or 450 cases in the last 7 days would rank us in “HIGH” transmission.  Reference: CDC’s “Level of SARS-CoV-2 Community Transmission”.]

ACTIVE CASES: Solano’s 412 ACTIVE cases is down from Friday’s 646, but still far above our summer rates.

POSITIVE TEST RATE:  Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was only 5.6% today, down significantly from 7.5% on Friday, and the lowest we’ve seen since June 28.  COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.6%. [Source: LA Times Covid Tracker]  Today’s U.S. rate is 7.2%.  [Source: CDC Data Tracker]

HOSPITALIZATIONS:

CURRENT hospitalizations were down today from 64 to 61 persons, but still in the range we saw during the winter surge.

ICU Bed Availability is up some today, from 21% to 24%, and still the yellow danger zone.  Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.

Ventilator Availability went up today from 48% to 54%, an improvement, but still in the range of last February’s winter surge.

TOTAL hospitalizations  Solano County’s TOTAL hospitalized over the course of the pandemic must be independently discovered in the County’s occasional update of hospitalizations by Age Group and by Race/Ethnicity.  The County updated its Hospitalizations charts today, adding 31 previously unreported hospitalizations.  See below.  The race/ethnicity numbers indicate a number of persons whose race/ethnicity was not given or recorded.  All percentages remain unchanged.

FACE MASKS… Required for all in Benicia and Vallejo

Benicia City Council passed a citywide indoors mask mandate that went into effect on August 24 and includes everyone 4 years old and up when indoors in public places, even those of us who are vaccinated.  Benicia was joined by Vallejo on August 31.  In the Bay Area, Solano County REMAINS the only holdout against a mask mandate for public indoors spaces.

THE SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS failed to even consider an agendized proposal for a countywide MASK MANDATE.  On Tuesday, September 14, the Board’s agenda called for discussion of an indoors mask mandate for all and a vaccination mandate for county workers.  The Board voted 4-1 to require county-run facilities in Vallejo and Benicia to abide by local mandates.  But the Board voted down the vaccination mandate 3-2, and failed to even consider the county-wide mask mandate.  The Solano Board of Supervisors now joins with Dr. Bela Matyas in officially showing poor leadership on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cases by City on Monday, September 27:
  • Benicia added 1 new case today, a total of 1,413 cases since the outbreak began.  Benicia has seen 15 new cases over the last 7 days, VERY NEARLY dropping below the CDC’s definition of SUBSTANTIAL community transmission (defined as 14-28 cases, based on Benicia population).  [Note that Solano County is also rated far above substantial transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
  • Dixon added 1 new case today, total of 2,448 cases.
  • Fairfield added 6 new cases today, total of 11,821 cases.
  • Rio Vista added 0 new cases today, total of 561 cases.
  • Suisun City added 6 new cases today, total of 3,121 cases.
  • Vacaville added 14 new cases today, a total of 11,587 cases.
  • Vallejo added 20 new cases today, a total of 12,895 cases.
  • Unincorporated added 0 new cases today, a total of 137 cases (population figures not available).

Continue reading COVID infections slowing in Solano, but County records 4 new deaths and 31 hospitalizations →

Benicia CA, Benicia Fire Department, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Delta variant, Vaccine

Benicia City Council: Please Require Our Firefighters to be Vaccinated

By Roger Straw, September 25, 2021

A Benicia firefighter tested positive for COVID last year – Fire Department staff now only 62% vaccinated

Benicia Fire Department

Yesterday, I published a recent City of Benicia disclosure that over a third of Benicia’s Fire Department staff is unvaccinated.

At the end of that article, I called for the City to consider and adopt a vaccination mandate for all City staff who come into contact with the public, most especially our firefighters who interact intimately at aerosol-sharing levels when responding to 911 calls.

That call is all the more important considering a Vallejo Times-Herald news report from summer of 2020.  On July 2, 2020, the Times-Herald published “Benicia firefighter tests positive for coronavirus“.

The unnamed firefighter told the city on Wednesday that they have the coronavirus, as city officials work with the Solano County Public Health Department to determine the source of the infection, according to a city of Benicia news release.

An almost identical press statement was released by the City of Benicia two months later, on September 10, 2020.  It is unclear whether this is referring belatedly to the same firefighter, or a second firefighter.

The Benicia Fire Department has had over a year living with the reality of COVID among staff.  Surely the Department is well-informed as to the possibility of re-infection and the high danger of transmission by asymptomatic carriers of the delta strain of the virus.

I am personally acquainted with the incredible heroic up-close measures of these public servants in times of 911 crisis.  I want them safe, and I want those they help to be safe from them.

>> If it is not already doing so, I call upon the Fire Department to at minimum test its unvaccinated staff daily, and to rigorously quarantine any who test positive.

>> If it is not already doing so, Fire Department leadership should strongly encourage all staff to get vaccinated.

>> And I call upon our City Council to act quickly to require all City staff who deal directly with the public to be vaccinated, especially those who deal with Benicia residents in emergencies.

For safe and healthy communities…