Coronavirus update: Fresno County tops 100,000 vaccine doses, well behind others in state

Fresno County has administered more than 100,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.

The 100,111 doses is by far the most of any county in the San Joaquin Valley, but at 10,235 doses per 100,000 residents it still trails many counties of similar size and is ranked only 41st among the 58 counties in the state, according to data compiled by the Los Angeles Times.

In the San Joaquin Valley, Kern County is second with 74,000 doses administered.

The Sacramento Bee reported on Thursday that several public health officials across the state have said that California is under-counting the number of shots of COVID-19 vaccine that have been administered, adding to a messy rollout plagued by a severe shortage of the two vaccines that have been approved for emergency use.

Any errors in the system could be a problem for counties if the state uses incorrect data to determine how much vaccine it is allocating. There could be more clarity on the California’s vaccination plan soon, however.

The state partnered late last month with Blue Shield of California to serve as a third-party administrator. Details of that plan have yet to be announced, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has said the contract will be released this week.

Blue Shield is expected to centralize and streamline the vaccine distribution process, maintain data on the allocation of vaccines and select and manage the network of providers administering vaccines that will include hospitals, community clinics, pharmacies, mass vaccination sites and mobile clinics.

The Blue Shield program, Newsom has said, will launch next week.

Updates from the central San Joaquin Valley

Fresno County public health officials reported 146 new confirmed cases of coronavirus for a total of 91,876, and the one-day test positivity rate was down to 6.7% with a total of 2,168 COVID-19 tests.

The 7-day and 14-day averages for new cases are 304 and 356.

There were eight new deaths in the county and a total of 1,291, and the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 was down to 357, a decrease of 12 from the previous day.

Fresno is the only county in the central San Joaquin Valley that reported more than 100 new coronavirus cases. Here are the latest updates from the CDPH …

Kings County

• 19 new cases; 21,294 total
• 7-day average 66; 14-day 77
• 1 new death; 200 total

Madera County

• 13 new cases; 14,925 total
• 7-day average 46; 14-day 52
• 0 new deaths; 189 total

Mariposa County

• 5 new cases; 355 total
• 7-day average 2; 14-day 2
• 0 new deaths; 5 total

Merced County

• 80 new cases; 27,246
• 7-day average 104; 14-day 129
• 6 new deaths; 373 total

Tulare County

• 78 new cases; 45,782 total
• 7-day average 135; 14-day 166
• 11 new deaths; 672 total

Statewide there were just 8,575 new cases reported by the CDPH on Thursday, bringing the total to 3,371,556.

The 7-day and 14-day averages in the state are 11,016 and 13,210.

The CDPH also reported 461 new deaths for a total of 45,456. The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University has a higher death total, with 46,022 in an early Friday morning update.

The CSSE also has the U.S. surpassing 475,000 coronavirus-related deaths, with 475,444. That is more than double Brazil, which is second with 236,201 deaths.

U.S. lands 600 million doses of vaccine

President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the government has contracts with Moderna and Pfizer to deliver 600 million doses of coronavirus vaccines by the end of July.

A third single-shot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Biotech could be available soon, as well. The company submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use approval earlier this month. It is to be evaluated by the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on Feb. 26, and Johnson & Johnson officials said it will be ready to begin shipping doses of its vaccine upon approval.

This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 7:48 AM.