Merced County expands COVID vaccine eligibility to adults, teens with high-risk conditions
The Merced County Department of Public Health on Friday announced the county will expand COVID vaccine eligibility to more groups, including individuals who are ages 16 to 64 with high-risk conditions and disabilities.
Other groups added to the vaccine eligibility list on Friday were individuals in congregate settings, including people who are homeless and public transit workers. Those who are incarcerated are also included, according to press release sent out by Merced County.
There will be two vaccine clinics hosted by Merced County next week. One will be held at the Merced County Fairgrounds on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The other clinic will be held at Livingston High Gym on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Both clinics are by appointment only.
Visit www.vaccinatemercedcounty.com to sign up for email notifications when additional clinics become available. Anyone who does not have access to a computer or internet can call the Public Health Information Line at 209-381-1180 to request notifications for future vaccine clinic appointments.
No new deaths reported
The Merced County Department of Public Health reported no new COVID deaths Friday. The total number of fatalities remains at 428 since the start of the pandemic.
Merced County on Friday also reported 55 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total of residents infected by the virus to 30,142 since the start of the pandemic.
There are 766 residents who are estimated to be currently infected by the virus.
The number of residents hospitalized in Merced County due to the coronavirus is 21 — with seven people in the ICU.
According to the state, Merced County hospitals had seven ICU beds remaining as of Monday.
Merced County has a positivity rate of 6.2%, indicating the level of people among those tested who had a positive result. That’s a slight decrease from 6.4% on Monday.
Around the Valley
Stanislaus County reported one new death, 979 deaths to date. Reported 71 new cases, 51,938 to date.
Fresno County reported 128 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, 2460 to date; Reported no new deaths, 1,546 fatalities to date.
Kings County: 18 new cases, 22,459 to date; no additional deaths, 237 to date. State prisons in Avenal and Corcoran have accounted for more than 7,200 of the confirmed cases and 17 deaths.
Madera County: 15 new cases, 15,788 to date; no additional deaths, 226 to date. Almost 2,460 of the cases are associated with state prisons near Chowchilla.
Mariposa County: one new case, 401 to date; no additional deaths, seven to date.
Tulare County: 30 new cases, 48,770 to date; two additional deaths, 793 to date.
Valleywide, more than 215,400 people have had COVID-19 since the first local cases were reported in March 2020. Among those residents, 3,237 have died from the disease.
