The Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard includes two separate tabs showing detailed data on vaccines. I’ll post screenshots here, but the Dashboard shows more detail and has background notes on each bit of data.
Vaccines Summary
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First is the Vaccines Summary tab. Only 65% of eligible Solano residents have been fully vaccinated, lowest in the Bay Area. It is surprising to me that the County has set a target goal of only 240,000 eligible residents, under 65%. We are at 100% of our goal even though we’ve only fully vaccinated 65%? That’s not right! (It is good, however, that the County projects another 1,000 vaccinations in the next 7 days.)
Vaccines – Demographics
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Second, the Vaccines Demographics tab tracks residents who have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Very interesting! See below for individual screenshots of charts from the Vaccines Demographics tab.
The Chronicle has published two excellent reviews this week contrasting Solano County with our Bay Area neighbors. The first below profiles Solano with stats and detailed interviews with Solano leaders and residents.
In Solano County, the Bay Area’s COVID outlier, masks are anything but universal
SF Chronicle, by Kellie Hwang, Danielle Echeverria, Sep. 19, 2021
A man walks along Main Street in Vacaville. Solano County, has had the Bay Area’s poorest record on coronavirus cases and vaccinations [Photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle]Paulie Spacco believes anyone infected with the coronavirus should just “let the body do its thing” and build antibodies, even though an 18-month pandemic and the deaths of 1 in 500 Americans point to the dangers of following such a strategy.
Spacco, a Vacaville resident and small-business owner in his 60s, and his friend Gregorio Serrao, in his 70s, both say they have no intention of getting vaccinated and oppose restricting people’s activities to try to control the spread of COVID-19. Over sandwiches recently at La Borgata Italian Deli on Vacaville’s Main Street, the two dismissed evidence proving that masks work to help block transmission of virus-laden droplets.
“At this point, if you get sick, that’s on you,” Serrao said. And it’s just inevitable, they agreed, that “you’re going to lose some people.”
Their views, which are at odds with national health advice about the coronavirus, are not hard to find in Solano County, a Bay Area outlier when it comes to the pandemic almost from the start.
Paulie Spacco (left) and Gregorio Serrao stop in La Borgata Deli in Vacaville. Both are opposed to vaccines and preventive measures such as masks to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
The inland expanse dotted with suburbs and medium-size cities is the least vaccinated of the Bay Area’s nine counties. Just 54% of its 450,000 residents are fully vaccinated, compared with 67% in Napa and Sonoma, the counties with the next-lowest rate. It has a high daily infection rate — currently 18.6 cases per 100,000 people, the highest of any Bay Area county except Napa according to state data — and a hospitalization rate two to three times higher than that of other local counties.
And while the county’s case numbers, like those throughout the Bay Area, have shown improvement lately, the approach of local leaders — who have been less willing to restrict residents’ activities and impose mandates — has consistently set Solano apart.
It is the only Bay Area county that doesn’t require universal masking in indoor public settings, although two of its cities — Vallejo and Benicia — have imposed mandates. Solano lagged behind several other Bay Area counties in imposing stay-home orders last year, waiting until the state required it. Tuesday, Solano supervisors voted down a proposal requiring that county employees be vaccinated, saying it should be a personal choice.
Currently only unvaccinated people are required to wear masks in indoor public settings in Solano County, in line with state policies.
Many residents and officials say they want the county to act more aggressively. Supervisor Monica Brown, for instance, whose district covers Benicia and part of Vallejo, supports a broader mask mandate.
“Our health care workers are still being inundated with COVID-19 cases,” she said at a contentious board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday, noting that it’s impossible to know whether a maskless person is vaccinated.
A woman walks by outdoor seating in a plaza along Main Street in Vacaville, Calif., on Wednesday, September 8, 2021. Solano County, has had the Bay Area’s poorest record on coronavirus cases and vaccinationsCarlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
Supervisor Mitch Mashburn said that with young children and immunocompromised people in his house, he wears a mask to be safe. Still, he doesn’t think it’s the role of the board to force people to be vaccinated or mask up.
DEATHS: Six new deaths today, 2 age 50-64 and 4 over 65 years of age. Total Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now at 287. >>The Fairfield Daily Republic reported yesterday that Solano Health Officer Dr. Bela Matyas noted a surprising 24% of recent Solano COVID deaths were vaccinated individuals. No information was given as to the age or complicating health factors of those vaccinated residents. But all 6 of today’s deaths, including 2 who were vaccinated, presented with underlying health factors. This seems a clear signal for those of us who have been vaccinated to continue to wear masks and steer clear of close aerosol contact with unknown others.
CASES: The County reported 202 new COVID cases over the weekend, 67 per day, down from last weeks average of 105 per day but still in the range of last winter’s surge.
COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 767 new cases, NEARLY 3½ TIMES the CDC’s population-based definition of a SUBSTANTIAL rate of transmission and 1.7 TIMES the CDC’s definition of a HIGH 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 627 ACTIVE cases is down significantly from Friday’s 816, but still up alarmingly up from summer rates.
POSITIVE TEST RATE: Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 7.6% today, our first dip below 8% since July 6. COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.3%.Today’s U.S. rate is 8.7%. [Source: Johns Hopkins] Good news? Time will tell…
HOSPITALIZATIONS:
CURRENT hospitalizations were down slightly today from 85 to 81 persons, but still in the range we saw during the winter surge.
ICU Bed Availabilitytook a hit today, falling from 28% to 23%, still in the yellow danger zone. Again, we are in the worrisome range we saw during the winter surge.
Ventilator Availability went up today from 52% to 57%, 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 reported a minor adjustment on its Hospitalizations charts today. See below. The race/ethnicity numbers remained unchanged.
FACE MASKS… Good News in Benicia and Vallejo
GOOD NEWS! 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 this week. 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 20:
Beniciaadded 10 new cases today, a total of 1,398 cases since the outbreak began. Benicia has seen 29 new cases over the last 7 days, returning to just above the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (28, based on Benicia population).[Note that Solano County is also rated far above high transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
Dixon added 11 new cases today, total of 2,425 cases.
Fairfield added 48 new cases today, total of 11,712 cases.
Rio Vista added 6 new cases today, total of 556 cases.
Suisun Cityadded 20 new cases today, total of 3,082 cases.
Vacaville added 45 new cases today, a total of 11,502 cases.
Vallejoadded 60 new cases today, a total of 12,770 cases.
Unincorporatedadded 2 new cases today, a total of 136 cases (population figures not available).
DEATHS: One new death today, someone 65+ years of age. Total Solano deaths over the course of the pandemic now at 281.
CASES: The County reported 185 new COVID cases over the last two days, 92 per day, down from Wednesday’s 184 but up from Monday’s 50 per day, and well back in the range of last winter’s surge.
COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION RATE: Over the last 7 days, Solano has seen 714 new cases, NEARLY TWICE the CDC’s population-based definition of a HIGH 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 816 ACTIVE cases is up from Wednesday’s 773, and up alarmingly up from 212 on July 2.
POSITIVE TEST RATE: Our 7-day average percent positivity rate was 9.4% today, down from 10.7% on Wednesday. COMPARE: today’s California rate is 2.6%.Today’s U.S. rate is 9.1%. [Source: Johns Hopkins]WARNING:The Delta Variant is here in Solano County and spreading fast. Time to mask up again – watch out and take care!
HOSPITALIZATIONS:
CURRENT hospitalizations were down slightly today from 92 to 85 persons, but still in the range we saw during the winter surge.
ICU Bed Availabilitywent up today from 23% to 28%, but still in the yellow danger zone. Again, we are still in the range we saw during the winter surge.
Ventilator Availability went up today from 49% to 52%, 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. See below. Interestingly, the race/ethnicity numbers don’t square with the age group numbers.
FACE MASKS… Good News in Benicia and Vallejo
GOOD NEWS! 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 this week. 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 a 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 Friday, September 17:
Beniciaadded 10 new cases today, a total of 1,388 cases since the outbreak began. Benicia has seen 26 new cases over the last 7 days, remaining just below the CDC’s definition of HIGH community transmission (based on Benicia population). Benicia is still at the HIGH END of the CDC’s range of SUBSTANTIAL transmission.[Note that Solano County is also rated far above high transmission, and Solano’s 6 other cities are likely also individually experiencing high or substantial transmission.]
Dixon added 11 new cases today, total of 2,414 cases.
Fairfield added 40 new cases today, total of 11,664 cases.
Rio Vista added 3 new cases today, total of 550 cases.
Suisun Cityadded 17 new cases today, total of 3,062 cases.
Vacaville added 58 new cases today, a total of 11,457 cases.
Vallejoadded 46 new cases today, a total of 12,710 cases.
Unincorporatedadded 0 new cases today, a total of 134 cases (population figures not available).
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