Photo:  The Sharp vaccination super station at Grossmont Center in La Mesa. Photo by Chris Stone

February 25, 2021 (San Diego) - San Diego County health officials announced Wednesday that vaccinations of teachers and other essential workers will begin Saturday because most seniors have received a dose and appointments are opening up.

By Barbara Feder Ostrov, CalMatters

CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

February 1, 2021 (San Diego) - Educators, childcare workers, food and farm workers and first responders joined Californians aged 65 and over this week to qualify for the coronavirus vaccine.

Some counties low on doses

By Emily Hoeven, CalMatters

CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Image via iStock

January 15, 2021 (Sacramento) - Six million Californians 65 and older are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine — a major shift in strategy that could help accelerate the Golden State’s sluggish vaccine rollout even as some counties say they’re unprepared to handle increased demand.

UPDATE DEC. 18, 2020:  The ICU capacity for Southern California has dropped to zero, meaning ICU beds are 100% full as some local hospitals are diverting ambulances, delaying treatment for critically ill patients.

Grim news offsets relief over arrival of first 28,000 vaccine doses locally

By Miriam Raftery

Photo via Governor’s office:  These medical workers are among the first in California to be vaccinated with the newly arrived COVID-19 vaccine. 

December 15, 2020 (San Diego) – With the COVID-19 death toll spiking and hospital ICU capacity dropping to just 1.7% in Southern California, the state has ordered 60 refrigerated storage units to use as makeshift morgues. In addition, 5,000 body bags have been distributed to San Diego, Los Angeles and Inyo Counties, Governor Gavin Newsom announced today.

By Miriam Raftery

November 19, 2020 (San Diego) – A vaccine for COVID-19 can’t come soon enough to protect the health of people around the world and preserve economic futures for businesses that have shut down or been forced to operate under stringent limits. 

Over a quarter of a million Americans have died of COVID-19 in just eight months – nearly five times more than perished in the Vietnam War. That’s far higher than the 34,000 flu deaths last year, and the virus is now spreading exponentially. More than  three million Americans are now believed to have active infections—or nearly one percent of the U.S. population, the Washington Post reports. In San Diego, cases have tripled in the past two weeks; nationally, South Dakota and Iowa reported more than half of all COVID-19 tests were positive as hospitals fill up and nurses are in short supply.