Fresno County adds 23 new COVID-19 deaths. State lags in vaccine rates
Fresno County added 23 new fatal cases of COVID-19 to the running tally, which is now 1,043 since the pandemic began, according to the top health official.
There were also 546 new cases on Friday, bringing the total to 84,137, according to Fresno County interim Health Officer Rais Vohra.
Hospitals had 584 COVID-19 patients admitted in Fresno County on Friday, when there were just eight beds available and staffed in intensive care units.
The six-county region of Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare has now seen at least 2,213 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The number of new coronavirus cases statewide is trending downward, but the number of deaths continue to climb. There were 764 reported on Friday across the state, more than the 7-day average of 497, bringing the total number to 35,768.
Vaccine rates lag in California
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that California had administered 1,803,679 of the more than 4.7 million doses allocated by the federal government through Thursday. That’s 4,565 doses for every 100,000 residents, which continues to rank in the bottom 10 among the 50 states and D.C.
California’s administered dose total increased by 169,804 from Thursday’s CDC update.
At least about 1.48 million Californians have received one dose and about 322,000 have received both doses, according to federal data. Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines are two-dose regimens, taken three weeks and four weeks apart, respectively.
CDPH has classified the state’s 58 counties into six vaccination regions. Region five includes Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare, where 52,432 doses have been administered.
Other Valley counties
Tulare County reported 218 new positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 42,759 cases since the pandemic began. Two more recorded deaths brought that total to 531.
Merced County tallied 260 new cases and four new deaths on Friday, which makes for totals of 25,048 and 324, respectively.
Madera County did not report any new deaths, leaving the total at 151. Eighty-five new cases pushed the total to 13,583.
Mariposa County did not report any changes to its 346 cases and four deaths.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 4:59 PM.
