233 New COVID-19 Cases, No New Deaths Reported In SD County

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA —The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer vaccine for youth aged 12 to 15 Monday, as county public health officials reported 233 new cases of the virus.

Despite the authorization, there remains an additional checkpoint. An advisory committee of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to meet this week to review the data and make recommendations for the vaccine's use in 12- to 15-year-olds.

If that committee signs off on the doses, vaccinations for that age group could begin immediately.

Additionally, Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines will be available Tuesday at four San Diego Unified School District high school campuses for anyone age 16 and over.

UC San Diego Health will administer the Pfizer vaccine on a walk-in basis from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at Hoover High School, Crawford High School and Lincoln High School.

Sharp HealthCare will also administer the Pfizer vaccine from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday on a walk-in and appointment basis at Kearny High School.

Sharp will also offer Pfizer vaccines at Clairemont High School on Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

UCSD will administer Pfizer vaccines on Wednesday at Morse High School and on Thursday at San Diego High School.

"It is important to get as many people in our community vaccinated, and that includes eligible students," said San Diego Unified Pediatrician Dr. Howard Taras. "Children used to account for 4 or 5% of all (COVID-19) cases. At the end of April, they accounted for 15% of cases, and the proportion of all cases that are children continues to rise."

The schools hosting the clinics have notified families about the free vaccines and provided them with a parent consent form that must be signed for students younger than 18 to receive a vaccine, according to SDUSD.

"We know that coronavirus vaccines are key to stopping the pandemic and ensuring that students, teachers and members of our community are safe," said SDUSD Superintendent Cindy Marten.

"By bringing free vaccines directly to our students and families at their trusted schools, San Diego Unified, UCSD and Sharp are making the vaccination process as convenient as possible."

Monday's data increased the county's cumulative total to 278,182 cases with the death toll remaining at 3,725.

Of 5,406 tests reported Monday, 4% returned positive, increasing the 14-day rolling average to 1.5%.

Hospitalizations increased to 155 on Monday from Sunday's 150, while the number of patients in intensive care units increased from 39 Sunday to 45 in Monday's report. There are 54 available, staffed ICU beds in the county.

The county has received 3,568,195 doses of coronavirus vaccines and has administered 3,186,803 of them.

A total of 1,735,615 people have received one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, 86% of the way toward reaching the county's goal of vaccinating 75% of San Diego County residents 16 and older, or 2,017,011 people.

A total of 1,260,031 -- or 62.5% of the county's goal -- in the 16-or- older age range are fully inoculated with either two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

These numbers now include the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration data, which will be updated every two weeks.

— City News Service