SACRAMENTO, Calif. — ABC10 is following the latest coronavirus statistics and vaccine news for the Sacramento region and the state of California.
This blog will be updated throughout the day with the latest COVID-19 news. Click HERE to learn when and where you can sign-up to get the coronavirus vaccine near you.
1 in 10 people in California have received COVID vaccine, Gov. Newsom says
One in ten people in the golden state has received the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a tweet from Governor Gavin Newsom.
"Hope is on the way," tweeted Newsom.
In a press conference Wednesday, Newsom said more than 5 million people in California have been vaccinated.
Blue Shield to offer incentives for health care providers to fund in-home vaccinations
Blue Shield, which will create a statewide network to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, will begin offering incentives for healthcare providers to create funding for distribution sites, mobile clinics and in-home vaccinations for those who can’t travel, according to Yolanda Richardson, Secretary of the California Government Operations Agency.
Richardson participated in a joint hearing Wednesday for the State Assembly Accountability And Administrative Review and Emergency Management committees focusing on coronavirus vaccine distribution. California will finalize its contract with Blue Shield on Feb. 15.
During the hearing, Yolo County Public Health Officer Dr. Amiee Sisson cited data gathered in Yolo County that it is about 141 times more likely to save a life by giving a vaccine to someone who is 65 years and older than giving it to someone who is younger than 50.
“Despite compelling data supporting the need to vaccinate our oldest residents before essential workers, state prioritization guidance has actually moved in the opposite direction," Sisson said.
(Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article attributed the Blue Cross information to the wrong speaker at the hearing. It has been edited to correct the error. We are sorry for the confusion.)
'Technical errors' wrongly allow people to make vaccine appointments through 'My Turn' app in Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County Public Health says people were able to make COVID-19 vaccine appointments through California's 'My Turn' app for the Oakdale vaccine clinic due to technical errors.
The errors allowed Stanislaus County residents to wrongly make appointments for the clinic scheduled for February 12. The appointments made with the error, will not be honored. Those residents who were able to make an appointment will be notified of the cancellations.
Currently, Stanislaus Public Health is not accepting vaccine appointments through My Turn.
“We believe that this will be a very useful app (My Turn) for us to allow that, that scheduling of appointments," said Sheriff Dirkse. "The concern that we have is it’s a piece of tech and so far in this process, a lot of technology has not worked too well.”
The vaccine clinic at Gladys Lemmons Senior Center in Oakdale will remain open on Friday, February 12th, 2021 on a “first come, first serve” basis. The clinic will operate from 9 am to 5 pm or until they run out of doses. The vaccines will only be available to eligible Stanislaus County residents and those who work in Stanislaus County.
Gov. Newsom provides update on statewide vaccinations, variants
Over 5 million people in California have been vaccinated. That was one of Gov. Newsom's updates as he held a press conference in California's Central Valley on the state's efforts to ramp up administering coronavirus vaccines throughout the state.
"It’s not enough. No one is denying that," Newsom said. "The issue of scarcity is real. The reality is, at the end of the day, we are only receiving a little over one million [doses] a week…The state doesn’t hold vaccines."
While Newsom continues to claim equity is a priority, he said California had not met its equity goals in vaccinating more vulnerable populations. He said data regarding the vaccination process's equity would be released soon.
Because of dropping case rates and positivity rates, Gov. Newsom expects more counties to move out of the more restrictive purple tier in the coming week. California's governor also made a point to mention that the South African variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Alameda and Santa Clara counties.
The presence of the new virus variants marked a dim note in an otherwise upbeat news conference. Newsom said infection rates, cases, and hospitalizations continue to go down.
State releases latest COVID-19 statistics
On Tuesday, the state of California announced a state total of 3,362,981 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There were also 518 deaths reported, bringing the total up to 44,495 deaths. The state also said 5,089,484 vaccine doses had been administered.
Collection of mayors throughout state ask governor to prioritize vaccinating teachers
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln, and nine other mayors from cities across California have joined together to request the state prioritize vaccinating teachers and school employees as the state pushes to reopen schools.
The "mayors representing some of the largest cities in the State" suggest prioritizing vaccinating teachers from transitional kindergarten through second grade and school employees.
"Prioritizing this relatively small population of TK-2 educators will lead to a significant positive change for our most vulnerable, youngest students," the letter reads.
One county in-state moves to less restrictive tier
Del Norte County was the only county in California allowed to move to a less restrictive tier this week.
The Northern California county moved from the purple tier to the red tier. Statewide, only five counties are out of the purple tier: Trinity, Sierra, Del Norte, Alpine and Mariposa counties.
California moved back to the colored-tiered system in January after the government lifted the nearly statewide stay-at-home order.
Resources guide for California families
- San Joaquin County Help: A Resource Guide for Struggling Families and Individuals
- Yolo County Help: A Resource Guide for Struggling Families and Individuals
- Stanislaus County Help: A Resource Guide for Struggling Families and Individuals
- Sacramento County Help: A Resource Guide for Struggling Families and Individuals
- Q&A: Why wear a mask after you've been vaccinated?
- Can my employer require the COVID-19 vaccine? | Q&A with workers rights attorney
- El Dorado County Help: A resource guide for struggling families and individuals
- Northern California Help: A resource guide for struggling Families and individuals
