By Loan-Anh Pham, San Jose
February 1, 2023
Santa Clara County will close its COVID-19 vaccination and mass testing sites until the end of February, but the pandemic is far from over for those whose fitness is compromised.
County fitness officials met Wednesday to discuss the closures, which are expected to take position through Feb. 28. But the long-term effects of the pandemic on vulnerable populations must be overlooked, Mavens said.
“We’re still in the midst of a pandemic, but we’re moving from a full-blown reaction where we have a sense of urgency every day to a reaction where we adapt to living with COVID,” said Dr. Brown. Sara Cody said.
The county still has 3 vaccination and mass testing sites. Testing will conclude at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds on Feb. 24 and vaccinations will end Feb. 25. Testing and vaccinations will end at the St. Martin site until Feb. 25. Testing has already stopped at the Mountain View site and vaccinations will end Feb. 28. Cody said the county’s COVID operations will remain active, adding outbreaks of follow-up and infection control.
Recent knowledge from the county dashboard shows that the seven-day moving average of COVID-19 infections is 144 on Wednesday. Infections reached 6,813 cases at this time last year. The county continues to monitor COVID infections in sanitation systems to address the lack of reporting.
County Administrator Jeff Smith said the decline comes after the distribution of more than 1. 9 million vaccines, at least one dose for 90 percent of county residents. County clinics will continue to distribute vaccines, he added.
“We stored thousands of lives in this county by getting the pandemic under control immediately,” Smith said. “We are avoiding vaccines and mass testing because testing is widely available. . . Vaccines are available. “
Marcelle Dougan, an assistant professor of public fitness at San Jose State University, said resource allocation remains critical as agencies cut services. Research is wanted on the long COVID, as well as other consequences of COVID-19, as the biggest threat. of cardiovascular diseases. Officials also want to be informed beyond reports and security measures, he added.
“If anything, (resources) want to be redeployed to other places,” Dougan told San Jose Spotlight. “How do we make other people in service-related jobs not have the ability to paint from home?How do we make transportation safe, so that other people can get to and from the paintings safely? »
Santa Clara University Department of Public Health Chair Sonja Mackenzie said the pandemic continues to affect the majority of the region’s marginalized citizens, especially communities of color. , with the average source of income for black citizens falling to $2,593 in 2021. Families in East San Jose have also faced a large number of COVID infections and deaths, which has had an effect on student learning. At the federal level, national fitness emergency declarations will expire in May, which may have an effect on access to vaccines and testing, he added.
“While young people, whites, healthy others and those without physical vulnerabilities would feel fit to emerge from this pandemic, from a physical equity perspective, we want to realize that the most vulnerable teams will continue to bear the burden,” Mackenzie said.
Assembly Member Evan Low said that with the option of new variants or surge surges, accurate communication about public fitness deserves to be a priority. Low is the one from Assembly Bill 2098 that passed last year. The law allows the Medical Board of California to sanction and even revoke a doctor’s license for spreading incorrect information about COVID-19 and vaccines. AB 2098 was recently suspended due to a federal lawsuit filed by two doctors last October.
“People think COVID is gone,” Low told the San Jose Spotlight. “It’s vital to help science and doctors who are doing vital work to protect patients. . . ensuring that members of the public are informed of what is happening. “time. “
Cody said citizens continue to take protective precautions, such as wearing masks indoors and receiving boosters and vaccinations.
“As the scenario around us adjusts and there are more dangers to the public, our reaction is also changing,” Cody said. “Everyone has noticed that Santa Clara County will do whatever it takes to keep the public safe. “
Updates on local COVID-19 data are in covid19. sccgov. org.
Contact Loan-Anh Pham on préstamo-anh@sanjosespotlight. com or @theLoanAnhLede on Twitter.
Editor’s email: An earlier edition of this story mentioned the lawsuit against AB 2098.
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