Fresno County adds more than 600 COVID cases, prepares to vaccinate farmworkers
Fresno County added 607 cases of coronavirus Saturday as it continues to grapple with vaccine supply and gears up to vaccinate farmworkers.
The new cases of COVID-19 bring the county’s total to 84,744 infections since the pandemic started, according to the state Department of Public Health.
The numbers continue the county’s recent downward trend in infections, though the number of deaths is still rising.
The county only reports deaths twice a week, most recently sharing on Friday that 23 more people had died.
Since the pandemic began, 1,043 people have died of COVID-19 in Fresno County.
California reported an additional 22,972 cases Saturday. Statewide, 3.1 million cases of coronavirus have been reported and 36,361 people have died since the pandemic started.
Tulare, Madera and Merced counties do not report COVID-19 figures on the weekends.
The Kings County website that reports coronavirus figures was having technical problems and had not updated new figures for the day as of midday Saturday.
Farmworkers, vaccines
The first vaccine clinic for farmworkers starts Monday in Mendota and could serve 3,000 people.
The Food & Ag Vaccination Initiative is a partnership between Pappas Family Farm and the Fresno County Department of Public Health. It’s part of an effort to vaccinate 70,000 food and agriculture workers in Fresno County.
The event is not open to the public and will only give vaccinations to Pappas employees.
“Farmworkers are among our most vulnerable populations because they work in close proximity to each other and then go home, often to households with multi-generational living arrangements, reducing their abilities to social distance,” Fresno County Supervisor Brian Pacheco said in a news release.
Availability of the vaccine continues to be an issue countywide.
On Friday, Fresno County announced it was pausing mass vaccinations at the Fresno Fairgrounds.
The county had been providing about 1,500 vaccinations a day to health care workers and people age 75 and older. But there won’t be any vaccines given out next week.
Another mass vaccination site, at Sierra Pacific Orthopedic Center, won’t be doing them next week, either.
The county doesn’t have enough doses available for either site.
However, United Health Centers will be offering drive-thru vaccines next week at the Central High School East Campus in northwest Fresno.
Appointments can be made online at unitedhealthcenters.org.
Statewide data concerns
Earlier this week, information released by the state indicated that out of six regions in the state, the central and southern San Joaquin Valley — Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties — have the lowest rate of vaccinations based on population.
Fewer than 18 shots were being administered per 1,000 residents in the seven counties, compared to a statewide average of more than 35 shots per 1,000 residents.
This story was originally published January 23, 2021 at 12:11 PM.
