A weekly overview of COVID-19 vaccine progress and availability around Santa Cruz County, plus updates on booster shots, testing and more.
Vaccine Watch
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Santa Cruz County schools & Omicron: Leaders share early report cards on latest ‘survival mode’
With thousands of students returning to schools across Santa Cruz County this week, school districts are having to navigate another unprecedented challenge: the highly infectious COVID-19 variant Omicron, spreading across communities.
Posted inCOVID Today
Bad news, good news: COVID cases spike, tests are hard to find … but fewer serious illnesses with Omicron
As COVID cases surge, pharmacies and testing sites are being flooded by people hunting for tests. However, leading health officials agree with evidence that Omicron is less dangerous, particularly in vaccinated people.
Posted inCOVID Today
Vaccine update: Rates, where to find a COVID shot or test; wait, cost and turnaround times
A weekly overview of COVID-19 vaccine progress and availability around Santa Cruz County, plus updates on booster shots, testing and more.
Posted inK-12 Education
As COVID case rates explode in L.A., schools grapple with how to reopen safely during Omicron surge
What’s being done to keep kids safe as schools reopen during Omicron surge
Posted inCOVID 2022
Vaccine update: Rates, where to find a COVID shot or test; wait, cost and turnaround times
A weekly overview of COVID-19 vaccine progress and availability around Santa Cruz County, plus updates on booster shots, testing and more.
Posted inCOVID Today
Omicron’s spread through one family shows variant’s frightening speed
The rapid increase in COVID cases reflects ‘the exceptionally transmissible’ quality of the Omicron variant, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says.
Posted inCOVID Today
Unvaccinated young adults, public spaces a concerning combo, Santa Cruz County health officials say
If you’re treating the Omicron moment as you did Delta or pre-Delta, “you’re virtually guaranteed to get infected,” the county’s deputy health officer says. Since young adults became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine earlier this year, they’ve continued to lag in receiving the shots, nationally and in Santa Cruz County, a topic of concern for public health officials.
Posted inCOVID 2022
Remembering ‘hope’: First Californian vaccinated against COVID reflects on a year gone by
One year ago, Helen Cordova became the first person in California outside a clinical trial to get the COVID-19 vaccine. At first, she didn’t want it.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
California braces for Omicron wave amid grim forecasts, concerns for hospitals
Prepare for big spikes in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in areas with low vaccination rates, experts say.