Merced County surpasses 300 total COVID-19 deaths, 10 months after first case reported

Merced County reached another grim COVID-19 milestone Tuesday, surpassing 300 total deaths reported since the pandemic first began in March.

The county’s Department of Public Health reported 12 new deaths Tuesday bringing total local novel coronavirus fatalities to 308. There have been 48 deaths since Jan. 1 this year.

Of the latest deaths, seven were male and five were female. All 12 were over the age of 65. Nine of them had underlying health conditions. It wasn’t known whether the other three had underlying health conditions.

There were 960 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Tuesday, the first time the county had updated its numbers since Friday.

The latest update brings the number of confirmed cases in Merced County to 24,452 reported since the start of the pandemic.

There are currently 3,678 cases considered active. The number of residents hospitalized in Merced County due to the virus is 61.

On Sunday the county announced that this week it would begin hosting vaccination clinics in Merced and Los Banos. Later the same day county officials acknowledged demand was so great they were booked for this week.

Currently all groups in the Phase 1A Tiers and residents 65-and-over are eligible to receive the vaccine. There are 540 doses available for distribution in Merced County.

So far 2% of the population of 287,420 people in Merced County have been vaccinated.

The Merced County Department of Public Health also announced its is placing a temporary hold on administering the an allotment of Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine that is linked to possible allergic reactions.

The department of health received 1,500 vaccine doses from the Moderna Lot 041L20A, which was linked to fewer than 10 apparent allergic reactions in the San Diego area, according to a press release .

Approximately 150 individuals in Merced County received a vaccination from that lot from the department last week, no immediate reaction upon administration of the vaccine have been reported at this time.

It is unknown if the potential allergic reactions (reported from the San Diego area) were specific to the lot or the batch of Moderna vaccine, according to the release.

“The State is reporting that so far this seems like an isolated incident of individuals potentially experiencing allergic reactions within the standard observation period. It is expected that the COVID-19 vaccine, like all other vaccines, may have potential side effects. If you are experiencing any severe medical or psychological distress, please seek medical assistance immediately,” says Public Health Officer Dr. Salvador Sandoval.

Residents can register by visiting the vaccinatemercedcounty.com website. People who don’t have access to a computer can call the health department information line at 209-381-1180 for information on vaccines.

COVID-19 in the Valley

Fresno County: 446 new cases with 82,485 total and 932 deaths.

Stanislaus County: 758 total deaths, 42,882 cases reported since pandemic’s start.

Madera County: 115 new cases with 13,443 total and 130 deaths.

Mariposa County: Three new cases, with 346 total and four deaths.

Kings County: 114 new cases with 19,435 total and 145 deaths.

Tulare County: 180 new cases with 41,867 total and 501 deaths.

A stay-at-home order remains in effect for the Valley due to climbing cases of COVID-19 and 0% availability in area intensive care units.

The Fresno Bee contributed to this report.

This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 5:27 PM.

Shawn Jansen

Merced Sun-Star

209-385-2462

Sports writer Shawn Jansen has been covering Merced area sports for 20 years. He came to Merced from Suisun City and is a graduate of San Diego State University. Prior to the Sun-Star, Shawn worked at the Daily Republic in Fairfield.