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Posted: October 8, 2021
Hi neighbors,
The good news to share this week is that we continue to receive more gunfire from people, protecting them and the community from COVID-19. We have now administered over 700,000 doses of vaccine, a monumental achievement in Sonoma County in less than 10 months.
But we still have work to do to reach all eligible residents. We are now 77 percent of the eligible population fully vaccinated with another 8 percent partially vaccinated. This means that 15 percent of the eligible population did not receive a single dose of the vaccine.
In total, 26% of the county’s 494,300 residents have not received any COVID-19 vaccine, leaving much of the county unprotected. Almost half are children under 12, an age group that is currently not eligible for the vaccine.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory group is set to meet on Oct. 26 to review safety data and consider allowing injections for children aged 5 to 11. plans to vaccinate children free of charge as soon as these pediatric vaccinations are authorized
At this point in the pandemic, we have the tools to end COVID, we just need everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated. The vaccine is safe, effective, free and widely available.
This week’s summary provides useful and important updates on the following:
- Vaccination mandate for California schools
- Flu vaccine recommendations
- Criteria for lifting the mandatory mask
- Tips on testing
- COVID-19 Community Resources and Support
- Other departmental news
- Emergency Preparedness Tips and Resources
CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS VACCINE MANDATE
California will enact the country’s first coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday. The goal is to have all students in grades 7 through 12 immunized by next fall, once the injections have obtained final federal approval for all ages 12 and up. The Pfizer vaccine is administered under emergency authorization for 12 to 15 year olds.
The state will require students in Kindergarten to Grade 6 to be immunized once federal approval is final for children ages 5 to 11. “We have to do more,” Newsom said. “We want to end this pandemic. “
California has required since 1995 that school-aged children be immunized against 10 vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, mumps and polio.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE GRIP AGAINST INFLUENZA
Sonoma County health official Dr Sundari Mase has issued a health order requiring workers at some health care and assembly facilities to get the flu shot. She strongly recommended that the public, including first responders, get their flu shot this flu season.
- The influenza vaccine requirement applies to all workers who may be directly or indirectly exposed to patients or residents.
- Workers include nurses, physicians, technicians, therapists, and pharmacists in facilities such as acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, psychiatric hospitals, dialysis centers, and dental offices.
- Workers must be in compliance by November 15.
- Anyone with an exemption must wear a surgical mask or respirator at all times when working indoors.
- The flu season, which lasts from November 1 to May 1, comes as Sonoma County continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Dr Mase warned of the possibility of the two viruses circulating at the same time this winter, which could strain local hospital resources.
- A British clinical trial has found no sign of danger from getting a flu shot and a second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at the same time, results that corroborate advice from US health officials.
CRITERIA FOR LIFTING THE MASK’S MANDATE
As decisions to vaccinate and wear face covers indoors lower rates of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, health workers in the nine Bay Area jurisdictions who are demanding face coverings in most indoor public spaces today a consensus has been reached on the criteria for lifting these health ordinances.
These health workers continue to work together across the Bay Area to protect public health with a cohesive regional approach and to plan for the next phase of the COVID-19 response as this wave of the pandemic recedes.
All nine jurisdictions will lift the indoor masking requirement in public spaces not subject to state masking rules when all of the following occur:
- The jurisdiction reaches the COVID-19 moderate (yellow) transmission level, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and remains there for at least three weeks; AND
- COVID-19-related hospitalizations in the jurisdiction are low and stable, according to the judgment of the health worker; AND
- 80% of the total population in the jurisdiction is fully vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson (booster doses not taken into account) OR eight weeks have passed since a COVID-19 vaccine was released been cleared for emergency use by federal and state authorities for 5 to 11 years
Most Bay Area health departments issued masking requirements for their respective jurisdictions on August 3, following a summer increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
ADVICE ON TESTING
The California Department of Public Health has created a new fact sheet to help Californians understand when to get tested for COVID-19.
- Get tested for COVID-19 right away if you experience symptoms, regardless of your vaccination status. Symptoms of COVID-19 can resemble a cold (including just “sniffles”), seasonal allergies, or the flu. COVID testing in California is free to anyone who needs it.
- If you have been exposed to COVID-19 and are not fully immunized, get tested immediately. If your test is negative, retest five to seven days after your date of exposure. Those who are not vaccinated should also be tested before and three to five days after any high-risk event.
- If you were fully vaccinated during the exposure, you should get tested three to five days after close contact with someone who recently tested positive.
- If you’ve recovered from COVID-19 in the past three months and haven’t had any new symptoms since your recent exposure, you don’t need to get tested.
The White House is planning a $ 1 billion investment in rapid home coronavirus tests which it says will help quadruple their availability by the end of the year. By December, 200 million rapid tests will be available to Americans each month, and tens of millions more will hit the market in the coming weeks, a White House official said today. The changes reflect the administration’s growing emphasis on home testing as a tool to slow the spread of COVID-19.
COVID-19 COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND SUPPORT
- Free COVID-19 tests are available for tribal communities at the Sonoma County Indian Health Project. Call 707-521-4500 for details.
- Listos California offers disaster preparedness information in native languages to its
Farm workers initiative Web page.
OTHER SONOMA COUNTY NEWS
ADVICE AND RESOURCES FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
- Defendable space is essential to improving your home’s chances of surviving a wildfire. It is the buffer zone that you create between a building on your property and the grass, trees, shrubs, or any wilderness that surrounds it. Learn how to build a defensible space around your home:
https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-ready/defensible-space/ - Sonoma County strongly recommends subscribing to the following alert and warning systems:
- SoCoAlert – When signing up for SoCoAlert, choose to receive alerts through landline calls, cell phone text messages, or pre-recorded verbal messages and emails. The system also works with telephones for the deaf.
- Nixle – Receive emails and texts from local police and fire departments that include public safety messages as well as emergency information. Text your zip code to 888777 to sign up or sign up online to receive emails, texts or voicemail messages with alerts and tips.
- Stay informed, subscribe to alerts on https://socoemergency.org/receive-alerts/.
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