COVID-19 Vaccine Pool Expands In San Diego County

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CA — Vaccine eligibility expanded in San Diego County Monday, even as the Del Mar Fairgrounds COVID-19 vaccination super site prepares for a mid-week closure due to lack of vaccine supply.

While people with underlying health conditions are now able to sign up for vaccination appointments in the county, Scripps Health said the number of vaccines it received this week necessitates shutting down the Del Mar site this Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, following a weekend shutdown that started Friday.

Patients who had appointments at the super station on one of those days are being rescheduled automatically through the MyTurn online appointment system.

Current medical guidance suggests patients can wait up to six weeks between doses of the vaccine without losing any efficacy.

So far, 709,220 -- or 26.4% of San Diego County residents over the age of 16 -- have received at least one dose of the two-shot vaccines and 430,376 people -- or 16% -- have been fully vaccinated.

San Diego County public health officials reported 198 new infections and eight virus-related deaths on Sunday. The total number of cases in the county rose to 265,471 and the death toll edged up to 3,452.

Of 10,349 tests reported Sunday, 2% returned positive.

There were three community outbreaks reported Sunday, with 15 reported in the last seven days. Cases associated with those outbreaks totaled 55.

Also on Sunday, the San Diego Unified School District and educator representatives announced the next steps to prepare for a classroom reopening the week of April 12. Superintendent Cindy Marten sent an email Sunday night informing parents a tentative deal had been reached regarding reopening plans.

Every family in the district will have the opportunity to choose either an in-person/online hybrid or an online-only model.

Both elementary and secondary students will have the opportunity to be on campus for a six-hour school day, four days per week.

As the district continues to review reopening preference surveys sent to all families, it will begin working with principals this week to help set specific models and schedules for each school.

Families will receive details from their schools on March 22, asking them to select a specific model when classrooms reopen the week of April 12.

Educators and school leaders also came to an agreement on steps which will make hybrid learning unnecessary in the fall, a school district spokesperson said, committing to no layoffs and the creation of a specialized instruction model for students who do not want to return to campus.

A change to California's COVID-19 reopening schedule could have San Diego County promoted to the less-restrictive red tier from the most restrictive purple tier by as early as Wednesday, according to county officials.

California's Department of Public Health modified the Blueprint for a Safer Economy to lead with opening activities when vaccines have been deployed to the hardest-hit communities. The modification shifted Blueprint tier thresholds to allow slightly higher case rates per 100,000 population, allowing counties to move to less restrictive tiers.

The floor for the purple tier will move to 10 daily cases per 100,000 population once the state hits that benchmark. As of last Tuesday's state update, San Diego County has a case rate of 8.8 per 100,000.

Fletcher said he was confident the numbers would allow San Diego County to post a sub-10 case rate on Tuesday, allowing the county to enter the red tier by as early as Wednesday.

The red tier will feature a limited allowance of indoor dining, gyms, movie theaters and other businesses and services.

Meanwhile, the California Department of Public Health updated reopening guidance Thursday to allow for outdoor breweries, wineries and distilleries to operate without having to serve food.

The new guidance, which went into effect Saturday, also requires breweries use a reservation system, limit patrons' stays to no more than 90 minutes and end all on-site consumption by 8 p.m.

— City News Service