Covid-19 Update: Feb. 23, 2022
We have good news!
The latest local numbers show a continued decline in new coronavirus cases and related hospitalizations.
Coronavirus-positive patients in Santa Barbara County hospitals have dropped to 50 from 150 in the past month, according to county Public Health Department data.
In addition, Gov. Gavin Newsom last week introduced the SMARTER pandemic response plan, which emphasizes access to vaccines, testing, masks, and COVID-19 disease treatments.
“We are moving past the crisis phase and into a phase where we will work to live with this virus and we will maintain a readiness posture and stay on top of the nature of change that is so self-evident with this pandemic and disease”
Vaccination Updates:
COVID-19 vaccinations are available for everyone age 5 and older, and the 5-to-11 age group has the lowest rate of inoculation in the county. Furthermore, Doctors Without Walls-Santa Barbara Street Medicine has vaccinated 991 homeless individuals, which is around 58% of the homeless community in the county.
Resources
Find a COVID-19 vaccine provider near you on the Vaccine Finder search function of https://www.vaccines.gov/search/. You can search for providers by location and by specific vaccine available (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson). You can also find providers on the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department website, publichealthsbc.org/vaccine, or at myturn.ca.gov. Some facilities offer walk-ups as well as appointments.
Text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) for a list of vaccine providers in English, or text your ZIP code to VACUNA (822862) for a list in Spanish.
There are free COVID-19 testing facilities around the county.
Find more local pandemic-related information on the Public Health Department website and the county’s COVID-19 recovery page, with resources for business reopening, rental assistance, food assistance and more.
Click here for Noozhawk’s complete Coronavirus Crisis coverage.
For more information, please visit the Santa Barbara Public Health Department’s website: https://www.countyofsb.org/