COVID-19 Town Hall Addresses Vaccine Concerns

By edhat staff

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (PHD) hosted a Town Hall answering questions regarding COVID-19 on Thursday evening.

The overall theme of the meeting was to build trust with community members, especially minorities who have been hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and voiced concerns about not having the same access to resources as other residents.

PHD Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso stated her department’s role is to build partnerships with community organizations to remove barriers to vaccination sites and information. She stated that health inequities existed before the pandemic but they are now being seen more than ever.

The meeting was available in English, Spanish, and Mixteco with community leaders asking questions that mostly centered on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines and distribution. 

While San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties are now offering COVID-19 vaccines to all residents aged 65 and older, PHD stated Santa Barbara County does not yet have the supply to administer doses outside healthcare workers and those over 75 years of age. However, Dr. Do-Reynoso stated this will change quickly.

Thursday’s COVID-19 Numbers

PHD reported 8 new deaths and 153 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. All eight individuals were over 70 years of age. Four individuals had underlying health conditions and four of the deaths were associated with an outbreak at a congregate-care facility. Four resided in Lompoc, two in Santa Maria, one in Santa Barbara, and one in the South County unincorporated area.

There have now been 366 total deaths within the county.

Currently, there are 836 infectious cases. Of those, 154 are hospitalized with 38 in the intensive care unit (ICU). Santa Barbara County’s ICU availability is now 23.4%.

COVID-19 Outbreak at Sheriff’s Office and County Jail

The Sheriff’s Office is reporting two additional staff and 13 additional inmates as being COVID-19 positive. One member of our professional staff and one Deputy have been found to be COVID-19 positive. This brings the total number of Sheriff’s employees who have tested positive for COVID-19 to 113, with 102 having recovered and returned to work.

The Main Jail is reporting 13 additional inmates towards the total number of inmates who have tested positive for COVID-19. Two of these inmates were identified during the intake screening and 14-day quarantine process, and one of them has since been released. The remaining 11 cases have been traced to the outbreak discovered on February 2, 2021. The total number of active cases today is 46.