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For this type of report, the Emergency Operations Center takes questions from the media and staff read them behind closed doors to officials for their response. The resulting video, called media availability, is then provided to news outlets at the end of the day.
Here are some of the key points from the December 31 media availability session with a summary of responses from Dr Ian Hoffman, Humboldt County Public Health Officer, followed by questions we would have liked to have asked in response on optionally.
Question from North Coast News: With the announcement of a new variant of coronavirus from UK to US, is the new variant being tested in Humboldt County? Are current testing methods capable of detecting it, and if they are, will the county release data on when the variant will be discovered here?
Response from Dr Hoffman:
Yes, a very good question. Something that has been on my mind a lot the last few days. We know it’s not just in the United States. It’s in California.
There are reports from San Diego that four cases have been detected there. It’s in several states across the United States So we are looking to test locally for this. There are tests available, and so when I have any updates on this, I will let you know.
Media tracking questions we cannot ask due to the format:
Does the state of CA have a COVID-19 genetic mapping program in effect, or is it relying on the CDC for this information?
1 min 5 s in:
Question from North Coast News: The Washington Post reported yesterday that about 20% of the coronavirus vaccines distributed nationally have in fact been given. Do these numbers also reflect Humboldt County? Why, or why not, do the numbers differ?
Response from Dr Hoffman:
I would say our numbers here are probably much higher than that. Do we currently have about 5,500 vaccines in Humboldt County? The vast majority of these go to the St. Joseph hospital system. They have a little over 2,000. And they administered them as quickly as possible. They also run a hospital; they see the vast majority of COVID patients in Humboldt County. They suffered about 1,200, or over 50%. 100 of their 2,000.
In addition, other hospitals have passed through several thousand more, so I think it’s safe to say that we’re very close to 50% of the vaccine we have in the county that’s already been administered and we’re working hard to get the rest through as quickly as possible.
Media tracking questions we cannot ask due to the format:
If the county has not administered the vaccine that we have now, will the state wait until we get past this allocation before giving the county another allocation?
2 min 15 s in:
Question from North Coast News: Are there any local statistics on the mental health impacts that the pandemic has caused?
Response from Dr Hoffman:
That’s a very good question. I must say that I do not have the answer to this. I suspect the Department of Health and Social Services could do it, so I would ask them the question.
Thank you, Humboldt County, on behalf of all of us in Public Health, Happy New Year.
Members of the community with questions or concerns are encouraged to call 441-5000 for more information.
For updates on vaccine distribution in California, visit cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/COVID-19Vaccine.aspx.
Local information is also available online at humboldtgov.org or during opening hours by contacting [email protected]
Local COVID-19 vaccine information: humboldtgov.org/vaccineinfo,
Humboldt County COVID-19 Data Dashboard: humboldtgov.org/dashboard,
Follow us on Facebook: @ HumCoCOVID19,
Instagram: @ HumCoCOVID19,
Twitter: @ HumCoCOVID19, and
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert
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