[Editor’s note: Noozhawk’s weekly COVID-19 email newsletter is delivered to subscribers on Wednesdays. You can sign up here. We are republishing the newsletters on the website so more readers have access to them.]
Welcome to Noozhawk’s Weekly COVID-19 Briefing.
I’m Noozhawk staff writer Grace Kitayama with the latest COVID-19 news in Santa Barbara County.
This newsletter is a way for Noozhawk readers to get important updates in one place.
It is emailed out every Wednesday, for free, to everyone who subscribes.
The state and county public health departments have not updated some metrics on their COVID-19 data dashboards since last week, as of Tuesday, likely due to the holiday weekend.
Here’s What We Know
» In the week ending Friday, there were 373 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths, according to the Santa Barbara County Community Dashboard. The number of new cases remains undercounted since the county does not collect or report data on positive at-home tests.
» The county’s COVID-19 community level is considered low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC metric is calculated with the rate of newly reported cases and new hospitalizations, as Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz explained in last week’s newsletter.
» As of Friday, there were 35 coronavirus-positive people hospitalized in the county, including three in intensive-care units. As Lompoc Valley Medical Center CEO Steve Popkin explained last month, several of the patients were admitted to the hospital for reasons other than COVID-19, but tested positive.
» The seven-day positivity rate, which is the percentage of coronavirus tests reported with a positive result, was 10.1% as of last week.
Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Shots
Federal and state authorities have approved the use of both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccines. The Food & Drug Administration refers to them as “updated boosters” that will target the initial coronavirus and Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5.
“Vaccine providers have begun receiving the updated bivalent booster locally,” said Jackie Ruiz, a county Public Health Department public information officer.
“Pharmacies and primary care providers will be key vaccine providers, including Vons pharmacies and Sav-on pharmacies,” she told Noozhawk Tuesday. “Those that have placed orders should have their first doses this week if they haven’t already received them.”
Check out the Public Health Department’s COVID-19 vaccine information page for vaccination locations.
You can also search for vaccine providers by area and by type of vaccine and booster at https://www.vaccines.gov/search/.
For eligible people, the bivalent booster shot is recommended two months after the original vaccine series has been completed, according to the Public Health Department.
People 12 and older who have already received a booster dose (or two) are still eligible to receive the bivalent booster dose.
Scroll down for the state’s guidance on COVID-19 vaccine timing.
The Pfizer bivalent booster shot is available for those 12 years and older, and the Moderna bivalent booster is available for those 18 and older.
People can mix and match booster shot manufacturers with their primary vaccine series manufacturer – for example, someone who received Moderna vaccines and a Moderna booster can receive a Pfizer bivalent booster, and vice versa, the Public Health Department says.
Readers have sent us dozens of questions about pandemic-related issues. Please send yours to news@noozhawk.com and we’ll try to include them in future newsletters and Noozhawk Q&As.
Reader Resources
» Find a COVID-19 vaccine provider near you on the Vaccine Finder search function of https://www.vaccines.gov/search/. You can search for providers by location and by specific vaccine available (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax and Johnson & Johnson). You can also find providers on the county website, publichealthsbc.org/vaccine, or at myturn.ca.gov. Some facilities offer walk-ups as well as appointments.
» Text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) for a list of vaccine providers in English, or text your ZIP code to VACUNA (822862) for a list in Spanish.
» There are free COVID-19 testing facilities around the county.
» Find more local pandemic-related information on the Public Health Department website.
» Click here for Noozhawk’s complete Coronavirus Crisis coverage.
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— Noozhawk staff writer Grace Kitayama can be reached at gkitayama@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.