When Governor Gavin Newsom stopped in Fresno earlier this week, he was widely anticipated to announce that Fresno would be the site of the state’s newest mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic. The clinic, which he had alluded to earlier in the week, is expected to be run in partnership between the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and it would bring in thousands of vaccine doses each day beyond what the county already receives from the state.
But a big announcement still hasn’t come, and so Fresno and other San Joaquin Valley counties continue to make do with less-than-ideal vaccine allocations. Many have had to temporarily halt new appointments at vaccination clinics or make them available only for those in need of second doses.
This week’s COVID update looks back at the governor’s Fresno visit and examines the vaccine rollout elsewhere in the Valley, featuring excerpts of conversations with Timothy Lutz, director of the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency, and Kern County Public Health Director Brynn Carrigan.
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. 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 1 week previous, Feb. 4:
- 3,217 total deaths out of 294,348 total cases
- 1,006 people hospitalized and 189 in ICUs
- 200 deaths reported in the last week
- 1,432 average cases reported daily in last week
As of 4 weeks previous, Jan. 14:
- 2,483 total deaths out of 255,689 total cases
- 1,490 people hospitalized and 253 in ICUs
- 292 deaths in the last week*
- 3,162 average cases reported daily in last week
- *this includes a data update from Fresno County after a 10-day hiatus; it’s likely many of these deaths occurred in weeks prior
You can always find up-to-date information for your county here.
