By Dr. Henning Ansorg, M.D., FACP, Health Officer County of Santa Barbara, Department of Public Health Santa Barbara County is seeing an alarming increase in new case rates for COVID-19, with active cases up 90% over two weeks ago. With the current uptick, it is expected that the daily case rates will continue to increase and cause…
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By Dr. Henning Ansorg, M.D., FACP, Health Officer County of Santa Barbara, Department of Public Health
If you and your family are fully vaccinated, congratulations! You have taken a huge step in protecting yourselves from serious COVID-19 illness.
Breakthrough cases, which refers to those who have contracted the virus despite being fully vaccinated, are happening now with the Delta variant.
Fortunately, vaccinated persons do not get more serious disease and do not require hospitalization. Whereas virtually every hospitalized person with COVID is unvaccinated and most of them state they regret not getting vaccinated and urge their families and friends to do so as soon as possible.
What should you do to protect yourself?
If you are vaccinated or not, don’t let your guard down. If you are indoors in public places, wear a mask. Avoid crowds and sick people. Remember to wash your hands frequently.
COVID is a preventable disease. Getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting seriously ill from the delta variant.
Everyone 12 years of age and older are approved to receive the vaccine.
Santa Barbara County, offers many locations to obtain the free vaccine. Walk-ins are welcome.
Please visit: www.myturn.ca.gov/ to make an appointment, or visit: https://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/ for more information.
Vaccination and Testing Urged to Prevent Continued Spread (SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department has been notified by the UC Santa Barbara Virology Laboratory of two additional COVID-19 cases resulting from the Delta variant. The Delta variant is labeled as a variant of concern by the Centers for Disease Control…
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You may have heard or read about a new strain of the coronavirus called the Delta Variant and you may be wondering if this variant impacts you and your family. The Delta Variant has been reported in neighboring counties. If you have been vaccinated, you have taken a big step in protecting yourself, your friends, and your family.
Things you need to know about the Delta variant:
How prevalent is the Delta Variant?
As of June 29, the Delta variant represents over 23% of all new Covid infections in California. It is spreading fast and will likely become the dominant variant in the United States by end of August.
Are booster shots needed?
No booster shots necessary since our available vaccines are highly protective after the complete series.
Is masking recommended?
In Los Angeles County, a new recommendation to wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status has been made. At this time, Santa Barbara County Public Health is not adding this recommendation, however masking is required by the State of California while using public transportation, indoors at K-12 schools, in jails and other state/local detention facilities, homeless shelters, emergency and cooling centers, and in medical settings. If Santa Barbara were to experience a significant increase in case rates, this guidance could change.
How do I get a vaccination to protect myself?
Most vaccination sites do accept walk-ups. Vaccination appointments for individuals aged 12+ can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov. The consent of a parent or legal guardian is needed for those between the ages of 12 and 17 to receive a vaccination. The consent form and other important information is available on our website https://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/
By Dr. Henning Ansorg, M.D., FACP, Health Officer County of Santa Barbara, Department of Public Health
By Dr. Henning Ansorg, M.D., FACP, Health Officer County of Santa Barbara, Department of Public Health
The highly transmissible COVID-19 delta variant, also known as B1617.2, was found in India in December 2020. It’s now the dominant strain in Europe and many parts of Africa and Asia.
As of June 14, 2021, the delta variant has reached 74 countries. Experts believe delta is anywhere from 30% to 100% more infectious than alpha.
The delta variant seems to affect younger people more often. In the United Kingdom, studies showed that children and adults under 50 were 2.5 times more likely to become infected.
In addition, the symptoms related to the delta variant appear to be more severe. People may be more likely to end up in the hospital if they have the delta variant. Studies suggest it might have almost double the risk of hospitalization than the alpha variant.
The delta variant is gaining momentum and will be the dominant strain in California within weeks. Already 5% of new infections are due to delta, as compared with 2% last week. Nationally currently 20% of new infections are due to the delta version of the virus.
Fortunately, our vaccines are very effective, however optimal protection is only achieved after the second dose of Moderna or Pfizer.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that the more the delta variant spreads, the greater the chance even more dangerous mutants could evolve.
“We know our vaccines work against this variant. However, this variant represents a set of mutations that could lead to future mutations that evade our vaccines,” she said.
“And that’s why it’s more important than ever to get vaccinated now to stop the chain of infection, the chain of mutations that could lead to a more dangerous variant,” Walensky said.
Those 12 years of age and older have been approved to receive the vaccine. Getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting the delta variant and in Santa Barbara County, there are many locations to obtain the free vaccine, often without an appointment. Please visit: www.myturn.ca.gov/ to make an appointment, or visit: https://publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/ for more information.
Vaccines are Safe and Effective and Prevent COVID-19 Illness
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met yesterday, June 23, to discuss the latest data on reports of mild cases of inflammation of the heart muscle and surrounding tissue following COVID-19 vaccination among younger people. The ACIP provides advice and guidance to the Director of the CDC regarding use of vaccines for control of vaccine-preventable diseases within the United States population. Conclusion of yesterday’s meeting was that the vaccines are safe and effective, and prevent COVID-19 illness.
“As a health care professional and parent, I understand and support the interest that many have in the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, especially among younger people,” said Van Do-Reynoso, Director, Santa Barbara County Public Health Department. “I strongly encourage everyone age 12 and older who are eligible, to get vaccinated as the benefits far outweigh evidence of adverse effects.”
Dr. Henning Ansorg, Public Health Officer for Santa Barbara County stated, “This is an extremely rare side effect, and only an exceedingly small number of people could experience it after vaccination. Most cases are mild and have a full recovery with minimal treatment. The vaccines are safe and effective and prevent the spread of COVID-19, especially with the Delta variant increasing in its spread among young people. The risk of suffering COVID-related heart disease if unvaccinated is far greater than experiencing side effects from the vaccine.”
Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself, your loved ones, your community and to allow Santa Barbara County to return to more normal lifestyles as quickly and safely as possible.
For more information on the vaccine and how to schedule an appointment, visit: publichealthsbc.org/vaccine/
Beginning Tuesday, June 15, California will begin to fully reopen. Santa Barbara County will no longer have restrictions on occupancy or social distancing in any business.
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Dr. Henning Ansorg, M.D., FACP, Health Officer County of Santa Barbara, Department of Public Health and Van Do-Reynoso, MPH, PhD, Director, Public Health Department, Santa Barbara County
It would be wonderful if the worldwide coronavirus pandemic were truly over, but the fact is, June 15 marks the beginning of our return to normalcy in California, not the end of the Pandemic.
June 15, 2021, marks the State of California’s reopening, at which time the state will discontinue the use of the Blueprint colored tier structure that helped the state manage COVID-19 in our counties over the past year.
California is enjoying the lowest COVID-19 case rate of any US state, and hospitalizations are near record lows, but the virus can still infect persons without immunity and lead to severe illness.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is encouraging all eligible residents to get vaccinated and to adhere to masking where it is still required. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a new masking guidance to go into effect on June 15 here.
The new guidelines align with recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stating that fully vaccinated people do not have to wear face-coverings or distance in almost all situations.
Under the state’s updated guidelines, vaccinated residents can safely choose to shed their masks except in select circumstances which include public transportation, indoors at schools and child-care facilities, health care and long-term care facilities, correctional facilities and homeless shelters.
Those who are not yet vaccinated will need to continue wearing masks at indoor public settings, including retail stores, government offices, and movie theaters.
After June 15 in California:
The removal of the Blueprint tiers on June 15 will happen with the emergency proclamation still in place. The emergency proclamation will remain in place for the time being as it gives California the needed administrative flexibility to respond to the crisis and ensures counties will be supported in their response to the pandemic. It allows for facilitation with FEMA on programs like vaccinations and testing.
While we are ready to reopen safely, COVID remains a risk and leaving the emergency order in place allows us to move quickly if the situation changes.
We want to take this opportunity to thank our amazing community for their diligence throughout the pandemic. We will continue to provide information and monitor data relevant to the pandemic at: publichealthsbc.org. Please stay safe Santa Barbara County!
Thank you for choosing to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by getting vaccinated! You are considered to be fully vaccinated two weeks after your second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, or two weeks after your single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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