More than half of residents age 65-plus vaccinated in Santa Cruz County
The county looks to expand access to more groups
Updated: 7:12 PM PST Feb 22, 2021
Santa Cruz County announced on Monday that they would expand access to the COVID-19 vaccination after they hit a major vaccination milestone. More than half of the county’s residents aged 65 or older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, the county health department reported. On Tuesday, Feb. 16, it was announced that nearly 20% of the county residents had received their first vaccine shot. Santa Cruz County is ranked seventh for per capita vaccinations among California’s 61 health jurisdictions and second among large counties.Related | COVID-19 vaccines in California: Everything you need to knowOn Feb. 22, county officials announced that they would expand access to the vaccine to people who work in education and childcare, emergency services and food and agriculture industries. Eligibility will be based on occupation definitions from the California Department of Public Health. “It has taken a truly collaborative effort across the community to reach this point,” Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency Director Mimi Hall said. “We are steadily increasing our vaccine infrastructure to enable wider access. While we are proud and pleased with efforts so far, they are limited by both vaccine supply and changing vaccine distribution plans from the State of California. I ask for the public’s continued support and understanding.”The county’s website at www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirusvaccine contains the latest updates for the county.
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. —
Santa Cruz County announced on Monday that they would expand access to the COVID-19 vaccination after they hit a major vaccination milestone.
More than half of the county’s residents aged 65 or older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, the county health department reported. On Tuesday, Feb. 16, it was announced that nearly 20% of the county residents had received their first vaccine shot.
Santa Cruz County is ranked seventh for per capita vaccinations among California’s 61 health jurisdictions and second among large counties.
Related | COVID-19 vaccines in California: Everything you need to know
On Feb. 22, county officials announced that they would expand access to the vaccine to people who work in education and childcare, emergency services and food and agriculture industries. Eligibility will be based on occupation definitions from the California Department of Public Health.
“It has taken a truly collaborative effort across the community to reach this point,” Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency Director Mimi Hall said. “We are steadily increasing our vaccine infrastructure to enable wider access. While we are proud and pleased with efforts so far, they are limited by both vaccine supply and changing vaccine distribution plans from the State of California. I ask for the public’s continued support and understanding.”
The county’s website at www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirusvaccine contains the latest updates for the county.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department has launched a new COVID-19 vaccine data dashboard, public health officials said Thursday.
The dashboard includes information on total number of residents vaccinated to date, in addition to information by race/ethnicity, gender and age from the state’s department of public health’s California Immunization Registry.
This data helps track and ensure equitable access for those most at risk of serious illness and death as well as those at greatest risk of exposure, officials said.
“Addressing health disparities and ensuring equitable access to the COVID vaccine for our hardest hit communities is and remains the top priority for the county,” Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said.
The county’s recent move to a “no wrong door policy” is an example of removing barriers to vaccination.
The new policy, announced Thursday, allows residents 65 years and older to book appointments at any vaccine provider regardless of their coverage in an effort to streamline vaccinations for one of the most at-risk communities.
Seniors 65 years and older make up 81% of COVID-19 deaths and about 60% of hospitalizations. So far, about 24% of the county’s 65+ population has been vaccinated and 37% of those 75+.
As of Thursday, more than 10% of the county’s population 16 years and older received at least one dose of the vaccine, “reflecting strong progress,” toward the county’s goal of getting 85% of the population vaccinated by Aug. 1, 2021.
The new vaccine data dashboard will be updated daily. The information is self-reported by vaccine providers in the county and includes information on non-county residents such as healthcare workers who live elsewhere but work in Santa Clara County.
The dashboard can be accessed through this link: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/dashboard-vaccine.aspx?mc_cid=fe1c613fca&mc_eid=882534314e. To book appointments or learn more about vaccination in Santa Clara County, visit sccfreevax.org.
SAN JOSE — Santa Clara County has launched an investigation into a complaint alleging San Jose State athletic department employees are being forced to work in the office during the pandemic, county executive Dr. Jeffrey Smith told the Bay Area News Group on Thursday.
It marks the third time the school athletic department has come under scrutiny for its approach to county directives intended to help stop the transmission of COVID-19.
“At this point, we need to find out what is going on,” said Smith, adding that enforcement officers planned to visit the campus.
San Jose State officials said in a statement Thursday evening that they were unaware of a current investigation. The statement added that school officials contacted Santa Clara County Code Enforcement division after this news organization’s inquiry to address the questions.
San Jose State athletics administrators and staff returned to their offices on Monday although the university issued two recent notices that four cases of COVID-19 involved individuals who had visited the school’s sports department buildings.
A San Jose State spokesman did not say how many of the department’s 140 employees had been asked to return to their campus offices. But in a Jan. 9 email seen by this news organization, athletic director Marie Tuite wrote the return date for “all staff” was Feb. 1.
In an email dated Jan. 30, Tuite reminded department employees to complete a COVID-19 return to work document.
Tuite declined to comment through the school’s spokesman.
The spokesman said everyone was needed on campus because teams have returned with the loosening of county restrictions for college and professional sports. About 10 SJSU teams are in season or about to start their seasons.
The first on-campus athletics event is scheduled for Friday when the women’s volleyball team plays host to Boise State at 1 p.m. at Yoshihiro Uchida Hall. Most of the team schedules have not been completed yet.
“Athletics operations follow all safety precautions as outlined in Santa Clara County and state of California COVID-19 related directives and guidelines applicable to intercollegiate athletics and higher education,” the SJSU statement read.
The Santa Clara County Health Department has required county businesses to maximize remote work.
“The general direction is if you can work from home you should work from home,” Smith said. “Nobody should be forced to come into work.”
San Jose State athletic administrators previously have been at odds with county public health guidelines.
In October, county officials criticized the school when it relocated the football team to Humboldt State for 1 ½ weeks to prepare for the season opener. At the time, county officials did not permit contact sports.
In December, the team returned from Las Vegas to San Jose for a week before departing to Tucson to play in the Arizona Bowl. At the time the county had issued a 10-day quarantine for anyone traveling to the area from beyond 150 miles, leading to criticism from Smith. The Spartans ended up with 13 confirmed coronavirus cases after they returned from Las Vegas.
“Obviously with the first two times, there was frustration,” Smith said. “We thought we had things worked out. I hope the complaints being investigated are found to be untrue. But if they are proven, we’ll go through another problem.”
In the past week, the school reported four cases potentially involving athletics in internal memos sent to the campus community from the school’s director of Environmental Health and Safety. The memos, obtained by the Bay Area News Group, do not identify any individuals by name. It is not clear whether any of the four cases involve athletes or athletic department employees.
A school spokesman declined to say who was involved, citing the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California regulations.
According to one of the internal memos, a positive case involved someone who visited Uchida Hall a week ago. The athletics department shares Uchida Hall with the kinesiology department, the Health Science department and the school’s judo program.
Another case involved someone who visited the East Fieldhouse last week. The men’s and women’s soccer teams, the baseball and softball teams and the women’s tennis team use the building, according to the university.
A second memo reported two separate cases involving individuals who visited the East Fieldhouse. In one case, the person also visited the school’s football stadium and one of the campus student dormitories, the memo reported.
The school’s website on Thursday listed 31 confirmed cases in the past two weeks. All but two of the cases involved students living on and off the campus. The website does not provide any specifics about the cases.
Since March, San Jose State has reported 182 cases, according to the website.
A Bay Area News Group survey found many California schools have not allowed athletic department employees to work on campus as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to vex public health officials.
Santa Clara University and Stanford, the two other major colleges in Santa Clara County, are keeping most employees out of the office, representatives from each school said.
A Stanford official said that even staff who perform essential functions for the athletes, teams, events and facilities work remotely when possible. UC Berkeley has a similar policy, a school spokesman said.
The California State University system does not have a specific policy for handling athletic department employees’ returns, said Michael Uhlenkamp, senior director of public affairs. Instead, the 23 campuses, including San Jose State, have the authority to develop their own plans, “in which athletics were considered,” Uhlenkamp said.
According to a school website, San Jose State is in Phase 2 of its general plan to return to campus. However, Phase 2 encourages “telework” and says most instruction should be performed online or virtual.
Officials at Sacramento State, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Northridge and Chico State said almost all of their athletic department employees work remotely. Fresno State’s administrators and select staff are working in the office. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also has brought back most of its athletic department employees because of the upcoming seasons, a school official said. He added that temperature checks and brief questions about symptoms are performed daily.
For officials in one small town, it was a wake-up call to develop a plan to help the local businesses.
The result was a program called “Visit Santa Maria Valley,” which will pay tourists $100 to travel there and stay for a minimum of two nights at one of the many hotels in the area. The payment comes in the form of a voucher that can be used at any of the town’s wineries, breweries or restaurants. The promotion starts on February 4 and ends March 31.
Santa Maria Valley, which lies about 65 miles north of Santa Barbara, offers many of the same amenities as the more well-known California destinations, but at a lower price, officials said.
“Santa Maria Valley has so much to offer,” Jennifer Harrison, Direct of the Santa Maria Valley Visitors Bureau, told CNN. “We have beautiful beaches, hotels and wineries that are such a great option for budget-conscious travelers during a time of economic rebound.”
Indeed, the Central Coast region boasts 13 beaches and 34 tasting rooms all within a 30-minute drive, according to the Santa Maria Valley website which lists dozens of activities including hiking, golfing, art exploration and birdwatching.
Safety first
Harrison said her team is working diligently to follow CDC safety protocols, adding that Santa Maria Valley is less crowded than other California destinations and can more easily enforce social-distancing guidelines.
She also mentioned that the town typically attracts visitors that come by car, rather than plane, due to the somewhat remote location.
“‘Visit Santa Maria Valley’ is calling on visitors to discover the region in a safe, responsible way,” Harrison said. “Our wine-tasting rooms, outdoor spaces, restaurants and hotels have worked together to evolve health and safety protocols so that visitors can experience the charm of the area.”
The program was launched as Yelp’s 2020 Economic Average report recently found that small towns which rely on tourism have been significantly affected by the pandemic.
Santa Clara County residents 65 years and older are now eligible to get vaccinated, county officials announced Tuesday.
Residents in that age range can now schedule appointments through the county website for openings starting on Wednesday and thereafter.
The expanded eligibility follows the state’s current guidance for vaccine allocation.
“Older residents and those living in skilled nursing facilities continue to be the population at greatest risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19,” said Dr. Monika Roy, county assistant public health officer.
As of Monday, more than 160,300 individuals have been vaccinated in Santa Clara County by the county, private health care providers and other vaccine distributers.
The county’s health system is the largest provider of the COVID-19 vaccine, county officials said. So far, it has administered nearly 60,000 first doses and has a weekly capacity to provide 30,000 vaccine appointments per week.
Residents can make appointments at mass vaccination sites located at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, Berger Drive in San Jose and the Mountain View Community Center.
The county is also vaccinating eligible individuals at several Valley Health Center locations, including up to 600 people per day in Gilroy, according to the county’s Public Health Department.
“As the vaccine becomes available to more of our residents, the County continues its deep commitment to equity and ensuring access for our communities most at risk of contracting COVID-19,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong, associate chief medical officer for the County of Santa Clara Health System.
The county is also partnering with community clinics and launched a pilot mobile vaccination clinic to ensure vaccine access to residents and staff of long-term care facilities.
“We are coordinating efforts with local fire departments and emergency medical services providers and sending vaccinators into the field to ensure those at greatest risk can be vaccinated as quickly as possible,” Roy said.
County officials say the ability to expand vaccine eligibility is dependent on vaccine supply.
This week, the county received 20,125 additional first doses of vaccine, which is “far fewer doses than health systems in the county have capacity to provide,” according to the county public health department.
Residents can get more information about vaccine allocation and administration by health care providers on the county’s COVID-19 vaccine dashboard.
To view the latest updates on vaccine eligibility or schedule a vaccination appointment, people can visit sccfreevax.org.
Santa Clara County residents 65 years and older are now eligible to get vaccinated, county officials announced Tuesday.
Residents in that age range can now schedule appointments through the county website for openings starting on Wednesday and thereafter.
The expanded eligibility follows the state’s current guidance for vaccine allocation.
“Older residents and those living in skilled nursing facilities continue to be the population at greatest risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19,” said Dr. Monika Roy, county assistant public health officer.
As of Monday, more than 160,300 individuals have been vaccinated in Santa Clara County by the county, private health care providers and other vaccine distributers.
The county’s health system is the largest provider of the COVID-19 vaccine, county officials said. So far, it has administered nearly 60,000 first doses and has a weekly capacity to provide 30,000 vaccine appointments per week.
Residents can make appointments at mass vaccination sites located at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, Berger Drive in San Jose and the Mountain View Community Center.
The county is also vaccinating eligible individuals at several Valley Health Center locations, including up to 600 people per day in Gilroy, according to the county’s Public Health Department.
“As the vaccine becomes available to more of our residents, the County continues its deep commitment to equity and ensuring access for our communities most at risk of contracting COVID-19,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong, associate chief medical officer for the County of Santa Clara Health System.
The county is also partnering with community clinics and launched a pilot mobile vaccination clinic to ensure vaccine access to residents and staff of long-term care facilities.
“We are coordinating efforts with local fire departments and emergency medical services providers and sending vaccinators into the field to ensure those at greatest risk can be vaccinated as quickly as possible,” Roy said.
County officials say the ability to expand vaccine eligibility is dependent on vaccine supply.
This week, the county received 20,125 additional first doses of vaccine, which is “far fewer doses than health systems in the county have capacity to provide,” according to the county public health department.
Residents can get more information about vaccine allocation and administration by health care providers on the county’s COVID-19 vaccine dashboard.
To view the latest updates on vaccine eligibility or schedule a vaccination appointment, people can visit sccfreevax.org.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Southwest Airlines has announced the destinations they will be flying to out of Santa Barbara Airport, including several daily flights to Las Vegas.
Southwest will begin service out of SBA on April 12, 2021. The initial schedule includes three daily departures to Las Vegas, one daily flight to Denver and one daily flight to Oakland.
“Obviously all strong markets in their own right, but they’re also major connecting points within the Southwest network,” said airport spokeswoman Deanna Zachrisson, who says Santa Barbara passengers will now have access to 50 other Southwest destinations via the new connections.
“We know we’ve been an attractive market for Southwest, but it took the shake-up of the industry as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide the impetus to enter the market,” said Airport Director Henry Thompson in a statement. “Whatever the reason, it’s our region that stands to benefit.”
Southwest’s network and notoriety for low fares and no baggage fees make it a popular airline.
“They just have such a large, loyal customer base,” Zachrisson said. “And that’s one of the reasons why we pursued them for so long.”
The airport staff and other local organizations have courted the airline for at least five years.
Tourism group Visit Santa Barbara has been actively involved in those conversations. The organization is now committing $250,000 to support the new flights, including marketing campaigns to attract visitors in each of the new Southwest destination cities.
Once leisure travel is deemed safe once again, the new airlines could help galvanize a significant rebound for Santa Barbara’s hospitality industry and broader economy overall.
“Obviously this is important for our very critical tourism industry, for meetings and conferences industry, for weddings,” said Kathy Janega-Dykes, president and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara. “The easier it is for people to get here, the more likely they are to consider a visit, and become, certainly, a repeat visitor.
“We also know that air passengers stay in the region longer than those that arrive by car or train. They also tend to spend more money in our community… And the pandemic has certainly illuminated how essential tourism is to our local community.”
Southwest flies with Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 aircraft for all its destinations and will do so out of Santa Barbara as well.
The new flights are currently bookable on Southwest’s website. Introductory fares start as low as $39 one way to Las Vegas.
