Tag Archives: Vacaville CA

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Keeping Watch on Earth News, Solano County CA

COVID-19 cases in Solano County up sharply again, with one new death

Wednesday, July 1: 114 new cases today,
1 new death. Since the outbreak started: 1,402 cases, 104 hospitalized, 25 deaths.

Compare with previous report, Tuesday June 30:Summary

  • Solano County reported 114 new cases today, total of 1,402 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 7 days, Solano reported 338 new cases, an average of 48 per day.
  • 1 new deaths today, total of 25, 2 more hospitalized, total of 41 currently, 104 since the outbreak started.
  • Solano reported 98 more ACTIVE cases today, total of 307.  This figure has been on a yoyo this week.  For whatever reason, 250 last Friday, only 70 on Monday, back up to 209 yesterday and 307 today.  An increasing number, no matter how you look at it….
  • Note the drop in ICU beds Available, from 37% to 32%.  Need to keep an eye on this one.
  • Testing – Solano county reported 831 residents were tested since yesterday.  Good progress!

Details and Demographics tab

The County’s new Public Health Dashboard design includes a second tab (panel), “Details and Demographics” (shown here).  Note that both tabs are user interactive – hover over a chart (or tap) to get details. On this Details/Demographics tab, most of the small charts have a small additional tab showing the rate per 100,000.   Go there and explore the two tabs.  (Expand a chart by clicking the small button in its upper right corner.)

SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE

Yesterday’s Seven Day moving average of confirmed cases showed an uptick (see at right).  Today’s chart is back to its misleading look, supposedly tracking as a 7-day average the increase of 717 cases (!) we have seen in the last 2 weeks…

Don’t let these “smoothed out” charts fool you – cases are up dramatically here.  Masks and social distancing are still required and important!  Today’s chart shows a 7-day moving average of 21 new cases per day, supposedly down from 27 in yesterday’s report.

BY AGE GROUP

  • Youth 17 and under – 15 new cases today, total of 126 cases, only one ever hospitalized.  Two weeks ago, there were only 52 cases among this age group – we’ve seen 74 new cases in 14 days!  I continue to be alarmed for Solano’s youth.  Cases among Solano youth have increased in recent weeks to 9% of the 1,402 total confirmed cases.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 66 new cases today, total of 805 cases.  This age group represents 57% of the 1,402 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations among this age group today, and no new deaths.  Total of 27 hospitalized at one time and 2 deaths.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 22 new cases today, total of 282 cases.  This age group represents 20% of the 1,402 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 35 hospitalized at one time.  No new deaths, total of 3 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 11 new cases today, total of 188 cases.  This age group represents 13% of the 1,402 total cases.  No new hospitalizations, total of 41 hospitalized at one time.  1 new death, total of 20 deaths.  In this older age group, 22% were hospitalized at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  And this group counts for 20 of the 25 deaths, or 80%.

CITY DATA

  • Vallejo added 28 new cases today, total of 534.
  • Fairfield added 39 new cases today, total of 462.
  • Vacaville added 17 new cases today, total of 200 cases.
  • Suisun City added 8 new cases today, total of 89 cases.
  • Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 27 cases.
  • Dixon added 19 new case today, total of 70 cases.
  • Rio Vista was reported greater than 10 cases for the first time today, showing a total of 14 cases.  (The other cities added up to 112 of today’s 114 new cases, so… supposedly Rio Vista must have added 2 new cases.  Perhaps the County failed to note Rio Vista as >10 yesterday?)
  • Unincorporated areas – Although the County still still shows Unincorporated at <10 (less than 10), a little math tells the story: Solano’s unincorporated areas must account for the 6 cases unaccounted for in the other City totals.  Residents and city officials have long pressured County officials for full and transparent city case counts.  Finally we have complete city data for ALL areas of the County!
  • A “Rate” column shows the rate of positive COVID-19 cases (per 100,000 population) for each city.  Benicia is leading the way here, with a rate of only 97.9 cases per 100,000. Compare with other Solano cities in the chart, and note that the CDC reports today’s rate in California at 566 per 100,000 (up from 547 yesterday).  Johns Hopkins lists the overall Solano County rate at 252 (unchanged, as it reflects incomplete data for yesterday). UPDATE: Johns Hopkins updated its listing for cases per 100,000 in Solano County to 314 (a significant jump, up from 252 on Tuesday).

RACE / ETHNICITY

The County report on race / ethnicity data includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  There are also tabs showing a calculated rate per 100,000 by race/ethnicity for each of these boxes.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  As of today:

  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 24% of cases, 22% of hospitalizations and 21% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 29% of hospitalizations, and 38% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 37% of cases.  They account for 25% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 11% of cases and 15% of hospitalizations, but 21% of deaths.

MUCH MORE…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano County sees huge spike in COVID-19 cases – 162 more since yesterday

Tuesday, June 30: 162 new cases today, no new deaths. Since the outbreak started: 1,288 cases, 104 hospitalized, 24 deaths.

Compare with previous report, Monday June 29:Summary

  • Solano County reported 162 new cases today (!), total of 1,288 cases since the outbreak started.  Over the last 7 days, Solano reported 268 new cases, an average of 38 per day.
  • No new deaths today, total of 24, 1 more hospitalized, total of 39 currently, 104 since the outbreak started.
  • Solano reported 139 more ACTIVE cases today, total 209.  This figure has been on a yoyo this week.  For whatever reason, 250 last Friday, only 70 on Monday, and back up to 209 today.  Sorry, I can’t explain this….
  • Testing – Solano county reported 854 residents were tested since yesterday.  Good progress!

Solano’s new Public Health Dashboard design has 2 tabs

The County’s new Public Health Dashboard design includes a second tab (panel), the “Details / Demographics” tab (shown here).  Note that both tabs are user interactive – hover over a chart (or tap) to get details. On this Details/Demographics tab, most of the small charts have a small additional tab showing the rate per 100,000.   Go there and explore the two tabs.  (Expand a chart by clicking the small button in its upper right corner.)

SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE – CORRECTED…

Yesterday’s Seven Day moving average of confirmed cases seemed erroneous and/or misleading – see at right.  Today’s chart seems much more realistic, tracking as a 7-day average the increase of 601 cases we have seen in the last 2 weeks:

Cases are up dramatically here.  Masks and social distancing are still required and important!  Today’s chart shows a 7-day moving average of 27 new cases per day, up from a misleading 5 in yesterday’s report.

BY AGE GROUP

  • Youth 17 and under – 23 new cases today (!), total of 111 cases, only one ever hospitalized.  Two weeks ago, there were only 40 cases among this age group – we’ve seen 71 new cases in 14 days!  I continue to be alarmed for Solano’s youth.  Cases among Solano youth have increased in recent weeks to over 8.5% of the 1,288 total confirmed cases.
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 101 new cases today (!), total of 739 cases.  This age group represents 57% of the 1,288 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations among this age group today, and no new deaths.  Total of 27 hospitalized at one time and 2 deaths.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 27 new cases today, total of 260 cases.  This age group represents 20% of the 1,288 total cases.  No new hospitalizations today, total of 35 hospitalized at one time.  No new deaths, total of 3 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 11 new cases today, total of 177 cases.  This age group represents 14% of the 1,288 total cases.  1 new hospitalization and no new deaths today.  Total of 41 hospitalized at one time and 19 deaths.  In this older age group, 23% were hospitalized at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  And this group counts for 19 of the 24 deaths, or 79%.

CITY DATA

  • Vallejo added 44 new cases today, total of 506.
  • Fairfield added 60 new cases today, total of 423.
  • Vacaville added 31 new cases today, total of 183 cases.
  • Suisun City added 11 new cases today, total of 81 cases.
  • Benicia added 1 new case today, total of 26 cases.
  • Dixon added 12 new case today, total of 51 cases.
  • Rio Vista and “Unincorporated” are still not assigned numerical data: today both remain at <10 (less than 10).  3 new cases were evidently in this group today, unaccounted for among the other city counts.  There are 18 cases somewhere among the 2 locations in this category.  Residents and city officials have pressured County officials for city case counts.  Today’s data is welcome, but remains incomplete for folks in Rio Vista and unincorporated areas of the County.
  • A “Rate” column shows the rate of positive COVID-19 cases (per 100,000 population) for each city.  Benicia is leading the way here, with a rate of only 94 cases per 100,000. Compare with other Solano cities in the chart, and note that the CDC reports today’s rate in California at 547 per 100,000 (up from 534 yesterday).  Johns Hopkins lists the overall Solano County rate at 252 (up from 250 yesterday).

RACE / ETHNICITY

The County report on race / ethnicity data includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  There are also tabs showing a calculated rate per 100,000 by race/ethnicity for each of these boxes.  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  As of today:

  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 24% of cases, 22% of hospitalizations and 22% of deaths.
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 29% of hospitalizations, and 35% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 37% of cases.  They account for 25% of hospitalizations, and 17% of deaths.
  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases and 15% of hospitalizations, but 22% of deaths.

MUCH MORE…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

One new COVID-19 death in Solano County, a senior citizen, 13 new hospitalizations

Monday, June 29: 8 new cases today, 1 new death. Since the outbreak started: 1,126 cases, 103 hospitalized, 24 deaths.

Compare with previous report, Friday June 26:Summary

  • Solano County reported 8 new cases today, total of 1,126 cases since the outbreak started.  Last week, Solano reported 258 new cases, an average of 37 per day.
  • 1 new death today, total of 24, 13 more hospitalized, total of 38.
  • Solano reported 80 fewer ACTIVE cases today, total 70.  How can this be??  8 new cases and 13 new hospitalizations, yet active cases are down by 80?  Maybe County officials phoned around and asked how infected people are feeling, and a bunch of them reported feeling better?  Sorry, I can’t explain this….
  • Testing – Solano county reported 2,504 residents were tested over the weekend and today.  Good progress!

Solano’s new Public Health Dashboard design has 2 tabs

The County’s new Public Health Dashboard design includes a second tab (panel), the “Details / Demographics” tab (shown here).  Note that both tabs are user interactive – hover over a chart (or tap) to get details. On this Details/Demographics tab, most of the small charts have a small additional tab showing the rate per 100,000.   Go there and explore the two tabs.  (Expand a chart by clicking the small button in its upper right corner.)

SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE – MISLEADING!

The County has added a Seven day moving average chart of laboratory-confirmed cases.  Maybe I’m just getting curmudgeonly, but I don’t see how this chart reflects reality.  Unless you really study the detailed description of the chart, it would seem to show that Solano is in great shape!  Far from it!  Cases are up here.  Masks and social distancing are still required and important!  The chart is “The average of the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Solano County residents over the past 7 calendar days, by the date that their specimens were collected,” whatever that means.  Today’s chart shows a 7-day moving average of only 5 new cases per day, down from 28 yesterday.  That just seems nuts to me.

BY AGE GROUP

  • Youth 17 and under – good news: no new cases today, total of 88 cases, only one ever hospitalized.  But notice: 14 days ago, there were only 40 cases among this age group – we’ve seen 48 new cases in two weeks!  I continue to be alarmed for Solano’s youth.  Cases among Solano youth have increased in recent weeks to nearly 8% of the 1,126 total confirmed cases.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the figure of coronavirus-infected kids younger than 18 at around 4% of those with the disease.  Our youth are testing positive at almost double the national rate!
  • Persons 18-49 years of age – 4 new cases today, total of 638 cases.  This age group represents 57% of the 1,126 total cases, by far the highest percentage of all age groups.  The County reported no new hospitalizations among this age group today, and no new deaths.  Total of 27 hospitalized at one time and 2 deaths.
  • Persons 50-64 years of age – 2 new cases today, total of 233 cases.  This age group represents 21% of the 1,126 total cases.  1 new hospitalization today, total of 35 hospitalized at one time.  No new deaths, total of 3 deaths.
  • Persons 65 years or older – 2 new cases today, total of 166 cases.  This age group represents 15% of the 1,126 total cases.  1 new hospitalization and 1 new death today.  Total of 40 hospitalized at one time and 19 deaths.  In this older age group, 24% were hospitalized at one time, a substantially higher percentage than in the lower age groups.  And this group counts for 19 of the 24 deaths, or 79%.

CITY DATA

  • Vallejo added 2 new cases today, total of 462.
  • Fairfield added 3 new cases today, total of 363.
  • Vacaville added 2 new cases today, total of 152 cases.
  • Suisun City remained at 70 cases.
  • Benicia remained at 25 cases.
  • Dixon added 1 new case today, total of 39 cases.
  • Rio Vista and “Unincorporated” are still not assigned numerical data: today both remain at <10 (less than 10).  The total for “other” shows 15 cases somewhere among the 2 locations in this category (same as last reported).  Residents and city officials have pressured County officials for city case counts.  Today’s data is welcome, but remains incomplete for folks in Rio Vista and unincorporated areas of the County.
  • A “Rate” column shows the rate of positive COVID-19 cases (per 100,000 population) for each city.  Benicia is leading the way here, with a rate of only 90.7 cases per 100,000. Compare with other Solano cities in the chart, and note that the CDC reports today’s rate in California at 534 per 100,000 (up from 494 Friday).  Johns Hopkins lists the overall Solano County rate at 250 (up from 245 Friday).

RACE / ETHNICITY

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths by race/ethnicity – Solano County, June 29
Incidence rate, hospitalization rate, and death rate (per 100,000) by race/ethnicity – Solano County, June 29

The County report on race / ethnicity data includes case numbers, hospitalizations, deaths and Solano population statistics.  There are tabs showing a calculated rate per 100,000 by race/ethnicity for each of these boxes  (second image above).  This information is discouragingly similar to national reports that indicate worse outcomes among black and brown Americans.  As of today:

  • White Americans are 39% of the population in Solano County, but only account for 24% of cases, 22% of hospitalizations and 22% of deaths.  (Note these numbers are all down from 25%, 23% and 23%.)
  • Black Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 13% of cases, but 28% of hospitalizations and 35% of deaths.
  • Latinx Americans are 26% of Solano’s population, but account for 38% of cases.  They account for 26% of hospitalizations and 17% of deaths.  (Note these numbers are all UP from 36%, 24% and 14%, indicating an uptick in Solano’s Latinx community.)
  • Asian Americans are 14% of Solano’s population, and account for 12% of cases and 15% of hospitalizations, but 22% of deaths.

MUCH MORE…

The County’s new and improved Coronavirus Dashboard is full of much more information, too extensive to cover here on a daily basis.  The Benicia Independent will continue to summarize daily and highlight a report or two.  Check out the Dashboard at https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=055f81e9fe154da5860257e3f2489d67.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA

Solano County and nationwide: Coronavirus revealing inequities in public health due to societal factors

[NOTE: Latest COVID-19 analysis by Solano County Public Health shows Whites at 39% of the county’s population, but only 25% of cases, 23% of hospitalizations and 23% of deaths.  Vallejo and Fairfield account for 54% of the population, but 73% of COVID cases, surely reflecting the two cities’ relatively poorer and browner neighborhoods.  – R.S.]

The Interwoven Threads of Inequality and Health

The New Yorker, by Isaac Chotiner, April 14, 2020
People in a spread out line.
The coronavirus crisis is revealing the inequities inherent in public health due to societal factors, Nancy Krieger, a professor of social epidemiology, says. Photograph by Johannes Eisele / AFP / Getty

According to preliminary data about the coronavirus pandemic, African-Americans are bearing a strikingly disproportionate share of the suffering in the United States. In Illinois, where fourteen per cent of the population is African-American, black Americans represent more than forty per cent of the state’s confirmed coronavirus deaths. Coronavirus fatalities have a similar breakdown in Michigan, and several Southern states show even greater disparities.

The possible reasons for these inequities are myriad: African-Americans are less likely than white Americans to have the option of working from home and to receive high-quality medical care, and more likely to have preëxisting medical conditions that lead to worse outcomes from the novel coronavirus. New research links coronavirus deaths to air quality, which is often worse in poor communities and communities of color.

Nancy Krieger is a professor of social epidemiology at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Her work focuses on health disparities between demographic groups and the social structures that help determine those disparities. We recently spoke by phone about how American health inequities are playing out during the pandemic.  During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, we discussed why the field of social epidemiology is crucial to understanding inequality, the causes of racial disparity in health outcomes, and what can be done to ameliorate the suffering of the most vulnerable Americans during this crisis.

Is the spread of the coronavirus, and especially its disproportionate impact on the African-American community, teaching us new things about racial disparities in health care and health outcomes or confirming things we have long known?

More the latter. What the virus is doing is pulling a thread that is showing how many things are actually connected, and how deeply people are actually connected. But it’s also revealing the very different conditions in which we live because of social structures that are inequitable, both within the United States and between countries. By pulling the thread, it’s revealing patterns that have been long known in public health.

So, when you think about something like this coronavirus, you have to think about who’s exposed in the first place and where they are exposed—at work, at home, and what are the conditions? You have to think about, if they’re exposed, do they get infected? You have to think about, if they get infected, do they get ill? And you have to think about, if they’re ill, do they actually die?

And you take each of those steps, which are all different steps in this process, and turn to what are the preliminary—and, I emphasize, preliminary—data on the excessive death rates. My state, Massachusetts…  […continued…]