Education, Government, Health, Local, News, Seniors

Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Das Williams — Vaccine, Testing & More

by Community Contributor • March 11, 2021 • Comments Off

If you had asked me five years ago if it were possible to have a Board of Supervisors hearing about redistricting, the long-term planning work program, or marijuana without having a knock-down-drag-out fight, I would have told you no way. This week, we discussed all three civilly and though there were disagreements, there was a confluence of purpose and principle. When the rest of the nation has become more partisan and angry, I hope it is reassuring to you to have a Board that works together to get things done.

COVID-19, Vaccine & Testing

Over the past few weeks, our active cases have decreased by roughly 40%

The adjusted case rate is 9.7 and positivity rate is 3.6. Although we still fall in the Purple Tier according to the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, due to equitable distribution of vaccines, we are getting much closer to a transition to the Red Tier.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has planned several dates to vaccinate the Carpinteria Community. This limited vaccination opportunity is planned for Carpinteria residents and those who work in Carpinteria. The first clinic is planned for March 13, 2021. Although appointments are already full for this Saturday, there will be another clinic Saturday, March 27th. See more details below and more appointments for future clinics will be available here.

For those 65 and older, Cottage appointments become available as supply is received and you can click hereto schedule.

Vaccine appointments will continue to be made available for Emergency Services Workers, Grocery Workers, and Phase 1A Health Care workers on the County’s COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment website. New appointments will be live Mondays at 9:00 am. These sectors may also be able to make an appointment through their regular healthcare provider or local pharmacy based on availability.

With increases in vaccine supply, the Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO) expects that all staff serving students in transitional kindergarten (TK) through twelfth grade, slightly more than 10,000 individuals, will have an opportunity to schedule a first-dose appointment before the end of March 2021.

Vaccination Rate Data:

113,940 Doses Received
73,673 First Doses Administered
37,052 Second Doses Administered

*Totals do not include a large number of doses received by nursing homes, federal health clinics and other institutions that receive direct federal allocations.

Testing:

For a list of free COVID-19 testing sites in Santa Barbara County visit: https://publichealthsbc.org/testing/.

Additionally, the mobile COVID-19 testing unit in Carpinteria is still located at Procore in Carpinteria (6267 Carpinteria Ave). This test site is available from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday – Friday and is available to all community members. To request an appointment, please go online to https://lhi.care/covidtesting. If you need assistance registering, call 2-1-1.

Fully vaccinated people should continue to:

Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing
Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings
Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
Follow guidance issued by individual employers
Follow CDC and local health department travel requirements and recommendations