san diego: dialed in: CoViD-19: San Diego Drops To 22.2 Cases Per 100k; K-6 Schools May Reopen | US Experiences Crushing Weather | FEMA Rolls Out Vaccination Supercenters |

Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional at Observatory North Park (Taken 2.12.2020)

Since Nova has been at my mom's, things have been pretty quiet around here. Today I got my kid fix in as I watched my friend's first grader for a couple hours while her brother was at a dental appointment. We watched a kid movie on Netflix called We Can Be Heroes and did a puzzle of the United States. She's an adorable chatterbox and I hadn't seen her since she was much younger so we had a fun little afternoon.

It was also a media briefing heavy day. We watched the California, White House, and Pentagon briefings, and a few newscasts, too. The storm across the country is horrifying and while it's easy to declare Fuck Texas because of the shithead politicians there, the posts from my contacts in Austin have been heartbreaking, with people sleeping in their cars to run their heaters and being out of power for days, with more dangerous weather to come. I can't even imagine. I always say I'd rather be cold than hot but imagining three days in sub-freezing weather with no power might have me rethinking that position and I'm so sorry to hear of the suffering and reported deaths with likely more to come.

As for us, there's not much going on. Nova will probably stay with my parents through Friday, though the construction site is just sitting there untouched for several days. I may try to convince Darren to do a San Diego Zoo or Safari Park trip with me, but I also have been prone to just kicking it in my pajamas all day when it's been chilly. So we'll see. Stay safe out there.

COVID-19:

Plummeting cases in the US show a path to crushing COVID-19 - Stars and Stripes (2.16.2021)
Staying Ahead of the Variants: Policy Recommendations to Identify and Manage Current and Future Variants of Concern - JHU (2.16.2021)
Weekly Epidemiological Update, as of 14 February 2021
The number of global new cases reported has continued to fall, with 2.7 million new cases last week, a 16% decline compared to the previous week. The number of new deaths reported also fell, with 81 000 new deaths reported last week, a 10% decline as compared to the previous week. This brings the global cumulative numbers to 108.2 million cases and over 2.3 million cases since the start of the pandemic.

Politics:

China played leading role in spreading Covid-19 conspiracies, investigation finds. Beijing was one of the biggest spreaders of misinformation, including claims about bioweapons, an analysis of social media posts finds. Investigation also finds that media and officials in Russia, Iran and US – including Donald Trump – also ramped up politically charged claims. - South China Morning Post (2.15.2021)
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, February 16, 2021

Fact Sheet: Biden Administration Announces Extension of COVID-19 Forbearance and Foreclosure Protections for Homeowners
Statement by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Cases of Ebola
The MPP Program and Border Security Joint Statement by Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall
13.5 million vaccine doses per week. 57% increase since inauguration. 2 million doses going to pharmacies.
HealthCare.gov has been reopened through May 15
Arctic Mass - Declared State of Emergency for Texas and will provide federal assistance to get through this weather crisis
FEMA is running point on vaccination distribution. Severe weather can cause delays but they have contingency plans to make sure vaccines are distributed and used appropriately
Every staffer is COVID tested daily.

Biden to refocus on COVID-19 relief as severe weather limits vaccination - CIDRAP (2.16.2021)

News:

Community Groups Help Select New County Director of the Office of Equity and Racial Justice - County News Center (2.16.2021)
Millions endure record cold without power; at least 20 dead - AP News (2.16.2021)

Other Reading/Watching:

In the social distancing era, boredom may pose a public health threat. Recent studies offer clues to why some people find it difficult to follow social distancing guidelines. - Science News (2.15.2021)

Global COVID-19 Stats (JHU 2/16/2021):

109,491,385 Known Cases
2,418,543 Known Deaths

US COVID-19 Stats

CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Data Tracker
(JHU)

27,753,415 Cases
487,927 Deaths

(COVID Tracking Project):

56,312 New Cases/27,540,885 Known Cases (2.1%+ Change over 7 Days)
1,353 New Deaths/478,259 Known Deaths
64,533 Current COVID-19 Hospitalizations
13,616 Currently COVID-19 patients in ICU
4,406 COVID-19 patients currently on ventilator

California Media Briefing with Cal State, FEMA, Governor Newsom, LA Mayor Garcetti, Assemblywoman Carrillo, General Vanherck (Commander of NORAD, United States Northern Command), et al.

Governor Newsom, Biden-Harris Administration Partners Celebrate Opening of Community Vaccination Sites in Los Angeles, Oakland
Contract with Blue Shield
Vaccination

Launching a state-led, FEMA supported vaccination center at Cal State LA
Biden has also supported vaccinations through pharmacies, SNFs. Supply has increased 57% week to week since Biden inauguration.
No ICE near vaccination or health care faciliites
Everyone has a role to support vaccinations. Help family and seniors register if you can.
Using Armed Service deployment to support the fight against COVID and in vaccination efforts.
Efficiency, speed, equity of sites is critically important.
150 CBOs to help deliver information and help with appointments
FEMA sites and pharmacy partnerships do not draw from state vaccination allocations

Media Questions:

California gets an update at 8am every Tuesday

1.08 million last two weeks
1.28 million this week
1.31 million next week
Supply is limited; it continues to ramp up. Building the infrastructure so that when supply funnels, we'll be ready.

Variants:

189 UK Variants sequenced in CA.
1834 West Coast Variants in CA.
2 South African Variant in CA

Based on trendlines, in the coming weeks counties could move from purple to red, red to orange, but variants could change that.
CDC guidelines were very aligned with California's school guidance. Legislature is working to close the gaps. Negotiation is stubborn.

California COVID-19 Stats:

State of California Safe Schools For All Hub
Vaccination progress dashboard
Aggregate California ICU Bed Availability: 17.2%
R-effective: 0.65
5,692 New Cases/3,412,057 Total Cases (0.2% increase)

40,600 30 days ago

64 New Deaths/47,107 Total Deaths (0.1% increase)
4.2% 14-day test positivity rate
9,075 COVID-19 Hospitalizations (-258 patients, -2.8% from prior day)
2,604 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized in CA (-56 patients, -2.2% from prior day)
1,629 ICU beds available (-99 from prior day)

San Diego County

Free Testing Sites and Schedule in San Diego
VaccinationSuperstationSD
Vaccination Dashboard
State Data:

Southern California ICU Bed Availability: 14.8%
R-effective: 0.74
693 New Cases/252,940 Total Cases
0 Deaths/3,037 Total Deaths
25.9 cases/100k population (Assessed on 2/16. Unadjusted Case Rate)
6.4% Test Positivity (Assessed on 2/16)
9.7% Health Equity Positivity (Assessed on 2/16)
819 COVID-19 hospitalized patients (-23 patients, -2.7% from prior day)
169 COVID-19 ICU hospitalized patients (-14 patients, -4.9% from prior day)
192 ICU beds available (+11 from prior day)

County Data:

San Diego County COVID-19 Update – 2-16-2021 - County News Center
COVID Watch 2.16.2021

1/31-2/13: 14,459 Cases; 7,763 People Interviewed
4,940 (63.6%) claim no potential community exposure
3,071 (39.6% household exposures
260 K-12 exposures

698 New Cases/253,641 Total Cases
5 New Daily Deaths/3,042 Total Deaths
749,300 Doses Shipped/645,274 Doses Administered
8% Daily Test Positivity/6% (7-day avg after 7-day lag)/5.6% Test Positivity (14-day average)
22.2 cases/100k population (Assessed on 2/16. Adjusted case rate per 100,000 excluding prisons.)
94% Case Investigation
-8% Day Over Day COVID-19 Hospitalizations (775 patients. -54% increase over 30 days)
25% ICU Capacity (258 patients. -37% increase over 30 days)
49 Staffed ICU Beds Available
0 New/49 Community Outbreaks (7-day)