To view the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department’s April 2 press conference, please click here.
Vaccine Update
- As of Friday, April 2, the county has received 194,360 vaccines and has administered 82.9% of them. In addition, 101,535 of those vaccines have been administered as first doses and 54,661 as second doses. Of the total vaccine count, 4,720 doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine have also been administered. 17.1% of the remaining doses are designated for future appointments.
- The following demographics are eligible to get a vaccine: Phase 1A healthcare workers, emergency service workers, education/childcare workers, agriculture and food service workers, 16 to 49-year-olds with severe comorbidities and residents aged 50 and older. As of April 15, all community members aged 16 and older will be eligible to receive a vaccine; however, residents aged 16 and older in Santa Barbara County will be able to receive a vaccine a little earlier, beginning April 12, only at Santa Barbara Community Vaccination Clinics.
- The week-long vaccination clinic in Lompoc provided residents with 9,450 vaccines.
- Countywide, 50% of residents aged 65 and older are fully vaccinated, according to Public Health Officer Henning Ansorg, 20% of residents aged 16 and older are vaccinated.
COVID-19 Numbers and Data Update
- Santa Barbara County Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said that COVID-19 cases have come down significantly in the county since January, however, in the past week, the county’s case numbers have not decreased. In fact, there is an increase in the county’s adjusted case rate.
- As the county looks to reach the orange tier, Do-Reynoso advised county residents to be cautious and vigilant to keep cases low. “Our epi[demiology] team [is] looking at the cases and it looks like the small uptick, the inching upwards may be a result of re-opening activities. We are seeing that the pandemic is shifting towards younger, and unvaccinated people who may be expanding on their social activities,”Do-Reynoso said.
- “When we look at the data this past week, in terms of age, there is a higher than average increase among the 20-year-olds. In terms of occupation, it looks like increases in college and university students as well as continued proportion of clerical management workers. We’re also seeing an increase in proportion of cases among whites, all though Latinos are still the majority of cases,” Do-Reynoso added.
- UC Santa Barbara and Cottage Hospital’s surveillance data on COVID-19 cases shows an increase in infected individuals getting sick with the U.K. variant.
Public Health Official Statements
- Do-Reynoso said it’s important for vaccinated individuals to keep track of their vaccination cards because proof of vaccination may be required at certain events soon. “Nationally, and statewide, we are considering activities that vaccinated people can participate in. It’s critical that you hang on to that vaccination card. Keep it in a safe place and take a photo of it and keep it on your phone,” she said.
- Do-Reynoso said that students returning from spring break and Deltopia combined have the potential to take Santa Barbara County back to the purple tier, or put the county in a red tier hiatus. “I’m hoping that all the residents in the community will adhere to the safety precautions that we have set forth which is really minimize the social gathering and continuing to wear the mask and social distance,” she said. “It’s critical.”
- Do-Reynoso believes that if cases stay on the decline and the county keeps pace with its current vaccination efforts, Santa Barbara County could have herd immunity sometime in July. “We’ve done some modeling using state tools, and at the rate of vaccinations and at the rate of cases, if we don’t sharply increase and if we can maintain a decrease in our case rates, we anticipate reaching that immunity level, the beginning of that immunity level sometime in July,” she said.
