Coronavirus update: This Central Valley county is worst in the state for vaccinations
Kings County, which has administered the fewest number of COVID-19 vaccinations per 100,000 residents of any of the 58 counties in California and has had issues with the state’s MyTurn system to sign up to receive a shot, will get some help next week with its largest allotment of vaccines.
County public health officials said it would receive its first doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine as well as shipments of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
Fresno County also expects to receive its largest shipment of vaccines next week.
“We are very excited to receive shipments of all three vaccines and are thankful to receive the single dose version, allowing even more people the opportunity to become fully vaccinated without having to return for a second dose,” Darcy Pickens, Kings County assistant director of public health said in a news release.
The number of doses was not available, but the health department will begin administering all three COVID-19 vaccines Monday.
The California Department of Public Health reported on Friday that only 17,436 vaccine doses had been administered in Kings County, a rate of 11,618.2 per 100,000 residents, which is by far the lowest in the state.
Del Norte County, which is considerably smaller with fewer than 30,000 residents, ranks 57th in the state at 14,512.8 per 100,000, according to data from the Los Angeles Times.
Kings County is well behind other similarly-sized counties with populations between 100,000 and 200,000.
Napa County has administered doses at a rate of 37,048.3 per 100,000 residents, El Dorado County at 26,109.9, and Humboldt at 25,107.5. Madera County has administered 29,688 doses of vaccine and 19,151.9 per 100,000 residents, Shasta County is at 18,955.8 and Imperial County has vaccinated 16,705.5 per 100,000 residents.
Latest case updates from the Central Valley
Fresno County reported 130 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 22 new deaths on Friday. The number of county residents to test positive for COVID-19 is now up to 96,023, and the number of deaths is 1,488.
The new cases came from 1,731 tests, a 7.5% positivity rate.
Kings County
- 31 new cases; 22,150 total
- 0 new deaths; 227 total
Madera County
- 32 new cases; 15,540 total
- 0 new deaths; 214 total
Mariposa County
- 0 new cases; 395 total
- 0 new deaths’ 7 total
Merced County
- 51 new cases; 29,378 total
- 1 new death; 413 total
Tulare County
- 40 new cases; 48,203 total
- 2 new deaths; 770 total
Statewide, the California Department of Public Health reported 4,659 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, the total now 3,493,126. There also were 400 new deaths reported, the total now 53,448.
The 7-day and 14-day test positivity rates are down to 2.1% and 2.4%, but the 4,659 new cases reported on Friday were the most in almost one week, Feb. 27, when there were 4,685 new cases.
Over-the-counter COVID-19 test approved by FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency use authorization for the first coronavirus test authorized for at-home use without a prescription.
The test detects genetic material from the COVID-19 virus in the nostrils and is intended for use by adults (self-swabbing) or children 2 years old or older (swabbed by an adult) with or without symptoms.
“The authorization of this new diagnostic test underscores FDA’s goal to continue supporting innovation in testing and providing flexibility to test developers with the aim of increasing the availability of accurate and reliable tests for all Americans,” said acting FDA commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock in a statement.
“The FDA will continue to expand Americans’ access to testing to help us in the fight against this pandemic, which has claimed over half a million lives in the United States.”
The Cue COVID-19 test correctly identified 96% of positive samples from individuals known to have symptoms and correctly identified 100% of positive samples from individuals without symptoms.
This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 7:27 AM.