Coronavirus update: Fresno County cases, hospitalizations fall back in line with state trends

One day after the number of COVID-19 patients in Fresno County intensive care units shot up, it dropped again on Wednesday to its lowest in almost two months.

The numbers differ slightly with the Fresno County Department of Public Health reporting 65 coronavirus patients in ICUs and the California Department of Public Health reporting 64. But either number would be the fewest since Dec. 5 when there are 61 patients in ICUs.

The number trended upward from there, surpassing 100 with 106 on Dec. 17 and peaking at 148 on Dec. 31, according to CDPH data. There were 100 or more ICU patients for 27 days in a row from the middle of December to the middle of January. There have not been fewer than 60 ICU patients in the county since there were 54 on Nov. 30.

The drop is in line with a fewer number of new cases and hospitalizations across the state.

The CDPH reported on Wednesday that there were 10,501 new COVID-19 cases in the state, well below the seven-day and 14-day averages of 15,908 and 18,707. There also were 13,766 coronavirus patients in hospitals and 3,667 in intensive care units across the state, the 14-day rolling averages dropping again to 16,487 and 4,208.

While new cases fall, vaccinations that could prevent or limit another surge continue to be a hot issue for counties and the state and the number of coronavirus-related deaths remains high.

Fresno County health officials said on Wednesday they had received about 113,000 doses with about 76,000 shots administered. The county expects to receive only 8,000 doses next week, according to Joe Prado, the community health division manager for the health department.

The county would need to be getting about 50,000 doses a week to reach its goal of vaccinating 600,000 county residents by August.

“The reality is the supply chain just isn’t there,” Prado said.

While counties in the state wrestle with coronavirus vaccination, the seven-day and 14-day averages for COVID-19 deaths are 512 and 527.

Nationwide, the coronavirus has now claimed 450,797 lives, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

CDPH updates for central San Joaquin Valley

There were 13 more dead in Fresno County, according to a late afternoon update by the department of public health, bringing the total to 1,198.

The most recent CDPH updates for the central San Joaquin Valley:

Fresno County

• 270 new cases; 89,542 total
• 13 new deaths; 1,185 total

Madera County

• 23 new cases; 14,595 total
• 9 new deaths; 184 total

Mariposa County

• 1 new case; 345 total
• 0 new deaths; 5 total

Merced County

• 145 new cases; 26,427 total
• 3 new deaths; 357 total

Kings County

• 39 new cases; 20,785 total
• 0 new deaths; 177 total

Tulare County

• 151 new cases; 44,720 total
• 8 new deaths; 606 total

Across the state, there are 3,281,271 confirmed coronavirus cases and with 481 reported on Wednesday 41,811 deaths.

How big a problem is vaccinations in the Valley?

Among the five counties in the state with populations between 750,000 and 1.1 million, the two in the Valley have administered far fewer vaccine doses. Listed in order by population with the number of doses administered, according to data from the CDPH, through Feb. 1:

Contra Costa County

132,388 doses; 11,553 per 100,000 residents

Fresno County

77,763 doses; 7,953 per 100,000 residents

Kern County

46,367 doses; 5,109 per 100,000 residents

San Francisco County

87,047 doses; 9,808 per 100,000 residents

Ventura County

76,245 doses; 8,912 per 100,000 residents

San Mateo County

79,579 doses; 10,279 per 100,000 residents

Statewide, 7.7% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine and just 1.6% of the population has been fully vaccinated, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker.

California has administered 3.8 million of 6.3 million doses delivered, roughly 59.8% doses have been used.

Changing the plan, again?

California is vaccinating residents 65 and older and some essential workers including those in health care and teachers. But after a plan to shift to an age-based eligibility system was criticized by advocates for those with disabilities and underlying medical conditions it is considering another change.

A plan reviewed by the Community Vaccine Advisory Committee on Wednesday would put those with disabilities next in line rather than the age-based system outlined by state officials last week.