Merced County hosting second dose vaccination clinics; 6 new COVID-19 deaths reported
The Merced County Department of Public Heath is hosting second-dose COVID-19 vaccination clinics this week.
The clinics will be for those residents who received their first COVID-19 vaccination dose last month at the clinics hosted by the Department of Public Health at the Merced County and Los Banos fairgrounds.
“Individuals who received their first vaccine through a Merced County clinic at the fairgrounds can expect to be contacted by a company called HR Support to schedule their second dose,” the department said in a news release.
The second-dose clinics started Tuesday and Wednesday at Merced College. The clinics will continue Thursday and Friday in Merced and Los Banos.
Those who receive their first dose through a clinic at Merced College this week will be immediately scheduled for their second-dose appointment onsite, according to Merced County officials.
Merced College set to host more vaccine clinics next week
Merced College is scheduled to host two more COVID-19 vaccination clinics next week on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a press release from Merced County.
Like the clinic this week, the vaccine doses will be made available through Dignity Health and University of California Health.
The clinic will be held in the school gymnasium both days. The schedule for Tuesday is 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The clinics will again by appointment only. There will be no walk-up appointments. The vaccine doses are open to anyone 65 years or older or in Phase 1A of the County’s vaccine distribution plan.
The public is encouraged to visit www.vaccinatemercedcounty.com to determine their eligibility and receive vaccination notifications to register for available appointments. Those who don’t have internet access can call the Merced County Public Health Information Line at 209-381-1180 for assistance.
Merced County reports 6 new COVID-19 deaths
There were six new COVID-19 related fatalities in Merced County on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 373 since the start of the pandemic.
County Public Health reported data Tuesday that showed fatalities among residents age 64 or older have increased by 18% during the past 14 days.
Of the latest deaths, four of them were women and two were men. Five of the deaths were over the age of 65 and the other was between the ages of 35 and 49. Four of the deaths were residents who were known to have underlying health conditions. It was unknown if the others had underlying health conditions.
On Wednesday 53 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in Merced County, bringing the total to 27,562 residents who have been infected with the virus since the start of the pandemic.
There are 1,728 Merced County residents estimated to be actively infected — a drop of 121 cases since Monday.
The number of residents hospitalized in Merced County due to the coronavirus is 36 — an decrease of three cases since Monday — with 20 people in the ICU.
According to the state, Merced County hospitals had one ICU beds remaining as of Wednesday.
Merced County currently has a positivity rate of 8.9%, meaning the level of people among those who’ve been tested who had a positive result. That’s a decrease from 13% two weeks ago.
New coronavirus variant found in California
Two cases of a new coronavirus variant, which originated in South Africa, have been reported in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.
The variant, known as B.1.351, wasn’t detected in the United States until last month.
Researchers at Stanford University now report the strain has appeared in two people in the Bay Area, with one case in Alameda County and the other in Santa Clara County.
It is unclear how exactly the South African variant is different from other strains, and whether it affects the severity of infection.
Around the Valley
Stanislaus County reported seven new deaths on Wednesday, raising the total to 881 deaths since the start of the pandemic. There were 90 new cases, bringing the total to 48,184.
Fresno County reported 300 new infections and also reported 25 additional deaths determined since Tuesday to be attributed to COVID-19. There have been 91,730 cases since the start of the pandemic and 1,283 total deaths.
Kings County: 18 new cases, 21,360 to date; one additional death, 200 to date. Almost 7,200 of the cases, and 17 deaths, have been among inmates at state prisons in Avenal and Corcoran.
Madera County: 17 new cases, 14,874 to date; no additional deaths, 189 to date.
Mariposa County: One new case, 381 to date; no additional deaths, five to date.
Tulare County: 95 new cases, 46,477 to date; 11 additional deaths, 672 to date.
Valleywide, about 202,400 people have contracted COVID-19 over the past 11 months, and 2,722 have died.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Merced County hosting second dose vaccination clinics; 6 new COVID-19 deaths reported."
