Early on in the pandemic, the state of California put an emphasis on equity in its pandemic response, requiring specific levels of testing and outreach in disadvantaged census tracts in order for counties to advance through the state’s reopening blueprint.
Now, obstacles to vaccine access have introduced the potential for new disparities, and newly published state data shows what many have feared: that the vaccine isn’t being distributed equitably among racial and ethnic groups.
This week’s COVID update walks through the new state dashboard, featuring excerpts of conversations with Veronica Garibay, Co-Executive Director of the non-profit Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, and Tania Pacheco-Werner, Co-Director of the Central Valley Health Policy Institute and one of the leaders of the Fresno County COVID-19 Equity Project.
Meanwhile, here’s a snapshot for Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, and Tulare Counties (note that some numbers may have changed between the interview and publication):
As of Feb. 18:
- 3,498 total deaths out of 307,712 total cases
- 727 people hospitalized and 168 in ICUs
- 180 deaths reported in the last week
- 813 average cases reported daily in last week
As of 1 week previous, Feb. 11:
- 3,418 total deaths out of 302,023 total cases
- 904 people hospitalized and 192 in ICUs
- 201 deaths reported in the last week
- 1,096 average cases reported daily in last week
As of 4 weeks previous, Jan. 21:
- 2,767 total deaths out of 272,727 total cases
- 1,371 people hospitalized and 258 in ICUs
- 284 deaths reported in the last week*
- 2,434 average cases reported daily in last week
- *this includes a backlog from December in Kings County that was only added to data dashboard this week
You can always find up-to-date information for your county here.
