Sonoma County keeping pace with other California counties in rollout of vaccinations

In partnership with health care providers, Sonoma County has now provided at least one dose of vaccine to 15 percent of its adult population, including nearly 50 percent of residents 75 years and older, Supervisors and Department of Health Services leaders announced today.

Overall, roughly 75,000 doses have now been administered in Sonoma County, which represents the 14th most of the 58 counties in the state, according to data now being posted by the California Department of Public Health. By population, Sonoma County is the 17th largest county in the state.

"We're pleased that the data show that, despite the limited supply of vaccines that we have received, we are keeping pace, if not ahead, of many counties in California in terms of getting shots in arms," said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, chair of the Board of Supervisors. "This is really encouraging and a reflection of the hard work that the county staff and all of our community partners have done to open up more than 20 vaccination clinics across the county in a matter of weeks. That said, we have a long way to go in getting people in our community vaccinated, especially our most vulnerable residents who are particularly at risk given their age, work environment or living situation."

The milestones were addressed Wednesday during a live-streamed community briefing featuring Supervisor Hopkins in addition to Supervisor James Gore, Department of Health Services Director Barbie Robinson, Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase, Vaccines Chief Dr. Urmila Shende and Vaccine Mission Manager Ken Tasseff. The panelists offered a "deep dive" into the data on how vaccines are being distributed in Sonoma County and who is receiving them.

Among the key points addressed during the forum:

• The number of vaccines administered in Sonoma County through February 9 was 74,426 (37,038 Pfizer; 37,388 Moderna)
• The number of residents with the first dose is 47,722. The number of those who are fully vaccinated with two doses is 13,352.
• The number of residents with at least one dose of vaccine is 61,074, which is equal to more than 15 percent of the county's adult (16+) population.
• As of Tuesday, Sonoma County had provided at least one dose of vaccine to 42 percent of residents age 75 or over and had fully vaccinated 2 percent of this population. Many more are in line with appointments for vaccinations as the county has prioritized those 70 and above at most clinics supported by the county. For a list of vaccination clinics, go to SoCoEmergency.org/vaccine
• Sonoma County is administering doses at a faster rate than other counties of its size according to figures provided by the California Department of Public Health. The numbers show that, as a percentage of population, Sonoma County is ahead of similar-sized counties such as Solano, Stanislaus and Santa Barbara counties and on pace with larger counties including San Francisco and San Mateo County.

This week, Sonoma County began prioritizing those aged 70 and above at most county-supported clinics while other clinics also began providing vaccines to essential child-care workers and agricultural workers. The county had prioritized those 75 and above prior to this week as this group represented two-thirds of the COVID-related deaths that have occurred in Sonoma County since the pandemic began despite comprising just 10 percent of the population.

But supervisors and Health officials noted that the county still has work to do in administering doses to the Latinx community, which has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The latest numbers show 65 percent of those who have tested positive for the virus in Sonoma County are Latino or Latina but so far the county has only vaccinated 11 percent of the Latinx community.

"For all the challenges that we have encountered, we have a good story to tell," Supervisor James Gore said. "When compared with other counties of our size, Sonoma County is ahead of the curve in delivering the vaccine to our residents. We know that we still have work to do, but we think that putting our numbers in context paints a more complete picture of our successful initial rollout."

For a complete list of vaccination sites in Sonoma County as well as the latest vaccine numbers, who's eligible for a vaccine and how to receive a vaccine, community members are encouraged to visit SoCoEmergency.org/vaccine, or call 2-1-1.