County Reports 1,489 New COVID Cases And 69 Deaths As Vaccinations Increase

San Diego CA

29 January, 2021

5:57 PM

Description

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego January 28, 2021 San Diego County public health officials reported an increasing number of vaccinations Thursday as the latest daily pandemic numbers came in at 1,489 new cases and 69 more deaths. Supervisor Nathan Fletcher told a media briefing the county has administered 269,000 vaccine doses, with 45,187 people — 1.6% of the county's population — completing two full doses. "We think these numbers will move much quicker as we head into February," Fletcher said, but he cautioned that "this all contingent on a supply of vaccines." He said the county has been shipped 485,900 doses, but acknowledged there is uncertainty about when the next shipments will arrive, and the county could run out as soon as next week as local vaccinations ramp up. However, he said health officials believe it is better to aggressively increase vaccinations now and pause later if necessary. "We want to build out as much capacity as possible so we can get every vaccine in an arm as fast as humanly possible," he said. A third 5,000-daily-dose vaccination super station is scheduled to open Sunday at Cal State San Marcos' athletics complex and a fourth in East County is planned. The county also has seven smaller locations each capable of 500 vaccinations a day, and six more of these are planned in February. The county is currently vaccinating healthcare workers and residents 65 and older who cannot get a vaccine from their regular medical provider. Complete information about scheduling an appointment is available online. Fletcher and other officials acknowledged that demand is great and it can be difficult to schedule an appointment, but urged residents to be patient. Since the first local case in March there have been 232,970 cases of coronavirus and 2,534 deaths from the disease. Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.