How is Fresno’s vaccination progress, as California prepares to lift mask rules in June?
California is waiting until June 15 to implement new guidelines issued late last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that will allow people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to go without masks in many – but not all — indoor public settings.
The four-week period announced Monday by California Health & Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly is intended to not only give the state – as well as businesses, their employees and the public – time to prepare for how to implement the relaxed mask rules, but also to give people more time to get vaccinated ahead of that date.
Data released Monday by the state Department of Public Health shows that just over 38% of California’s 40.1 million residents are now considered fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, while almost 50% of all residents in the state have gotten at least one shot. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they’ve received the second shot of the two-dose vaccines by either Pfizer or Moderna, or a single dose of the one-shot Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The additional time could come in handy throughout central California, where medical professionals have said they believe it will take getting 65% to 75% of residents vaccinated to assure a level of “herd immunity” in which enough people are protected that the virus has minimal chance of infection spreading from person to person.
As state and local health officials strive to convince more people to get their shots before the protective mask mandate is lifted – and as people in different states and jurisdictions decide whether they may continue wearing a mask even if they have their vaccinations – total vaccination rates (which includes youth) in Fresno County and surrounding counties in the central San Joaquin Valley lag well behind the statewide rate.
In Fresno County, for example, just over 30% of the total population has received the coronavirus shots for full protection – the highest rate among Valley counties.
Madera County follows at 28.1%, Tulare County at 26.6%, Mariposa County at 23.0%, and Merced County at 21.5%. Kings County has the second-lowest vaccination rate among California’s 58 counties, with fewer than one out of five residents now fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Valleywide, just over 27% of the region’s 2.1 million residents have received all of their shots, while fewer than 36% have gotten at least one shot.
Ghaly said that while the change in statewide mask guidance takes effect on June 15, local jurisdictions such as county health departments could wait longer to adopt the guidance, or leave tougher measures in place. He said that private businesses are also be free to continue to require masks.
“The state guidance is a floor under the restrictions,” he said. “It’s not a ceiling on restrictions.”
Officials with the Fresno County Department of Public Health said in a prepared statement that they would align with the state’s adoption of the CDC guidelines on June 15, and that its current mask rules would remain in place up to that date.
“After June 15, California plans to implement the recently announced Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) masking guidelines which will allow even more flexibility related to masking statewide,” the Fresno County statement said. “FCDPH will continue to work with our partners and communities to prepare for this change, by continuing our relentless focus on keeping residents of all ages safe and delivering vaccines to our vulnerable populations and underserved communities.”
Since the pandemic reached California in February 2020 and the first cases were reported in the Valley the following month, Fresno and neighboring counties rank among the 15 highest mortality rates from COVID-19 among the California’s 58 counties.
Latest case updates
Fresno County reported 30 new coronavirus cases Monday, in addition to 95 confirmed new cases over the weekend. The three days bring the county’s cumulative total since March 2020 to just under 102,000 people who have contracted COVID-19, whether they experienced symptoms or not.
Three deaths from coronavirus were also reported over the weekend. Over 14 months, the death toll from the disease in Fresno County now stands at 1,690.
Kings County reported no new cases of COVID-19 on Monday – the first day without any new incidents in just over a month. With nine cases reported over the weekend, the county’s totals stand at 23.017 to date. It’s been almost a month since the last coronavirus fatality was reported in Kings County, where 246 people have died from the disease.
Twelve new cases of coronavirus were reported in Madera County over Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and no additional deaths. The cumulative totals in Madera County now stand at 16,387 confirmed cases and 242 deaths.
Tulare County reported 31 new cases over the weekend and Monday, and no additional deaths. To date, 49,861 people have had confirmed cases of coronavirus, including 840 who died.
Eighteen new 18 cases, and two additional were reported by Merced County on Monday, the first update since late last week. To date, the county has 31,937 COVID-19 cases, of which 463 have died.
Mariposa County had yet to issue new a new report on Monday afternoon covering the weekend.
This story was originally published May 17, 2021 at 3:34 PM.
