Happy weekend time, Santa Cruzans!

We head into it with some solid negative COVID trajectory given declining positivity rates both locally and statewide. Gov. Gavin Newsom even provided some hope for parents, kids and coaches trying to eke out some semblance of a brief high school sports season. More on what sports are affected in what ways below.

The biggest news on the vaccine front involved the expected delay of supplies to California due to the bad weather that has been plaguing Texas. More on what we learned about that in Santa Cruz County below.

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Here are your headlines:

Vaccine Watch: All the things you need to know

A farmworker receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Medical assistant Gabby Zaragoza administers the COVID-19 vaccine to farmworker Juentino Gonzalez. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

➤ Vaccines administered in Santa Cruz County so far: 62,252 doses
➤ How we fare compared to other counties: Eighth in the state for number of vaccines distributed per capita, according to our content partner the LA Times

Bad weather in Texas means delays in Santa Cruz: Hospital systems distributing vaccines in Santa Cruz County are saying the bad weather that’s plagued Texas all week is now affecting vaccine supply here, resulting in delays. Read our Mallory Pickett’s story here.

Vaccines to be set aside for teachers: Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today that 10% of California’s weekly allotment of COVID-19 vaccine doses will be set aside for educators starting in March. However, teachers and school staff here may not have to wait that long because of a deal that the Santa Cruz County Board of Education struck with Dignity Health that will try to get first dose shots in arms by next week.

A caveat in much-anticipated youth sports reopening

Health officials say a jump in COVID-19 youth sports cases have prevented a move to the yellow tier.
Health officials say a jump in COVID-19 youth sports cases have prevented a move to the yellow tier. Credit: Kevin Painchaud/Lookout Santa Cruz

The state’s much-anticipated high school sports update today cleared “moderate contact” sports for seasons without COVID-19 testing. But “high contact” outdoor sports — including football, soccer and water polo — will be subject to once-a-week testing requirements, posing funding and logistical problems for some schools. Read my story here.

More from here & elsewhere

➤ Who’s getting vaccinated in California? A county-by-county look at racial data (CalMatters)
➤ CDC says these are the most common side effects people report after getting Covid vaccine (CNBC)
➤ Vaccinating the homeless population for COVID adds a whole new layer of difficulty (LA Times)
➤ House Democrats unveil full $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill with minimum wage increase (CNN)

Have a great weekend, everyone. I’ll see you again Monday.

Mark Conley
Deputy Managing Editor

Follow Mark Conley on: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Mark joins Lookout after 14 years at the Mercury News and Bay Area News Group, where he served as Deputy Sports Editor on a staff that covered three...