Coronavirus

Gov. Newsom Thanks Californians: More Than 80% of Population Has Taken a COVID Vaccine Shot

Approximately 68.4% of California’s total population (counting those that are ineligible for vaccines) has received at least the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while about 55.4% of the state’s total population are fully vaccinated.

Published

3 years ago

September 6, 2021

Isabelle Price

Nurse Administering Vaccination to Patient, Photo courtesy of California Black Media

On August 31, California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a press conference at a vaccination clinic in Oakland to thank the majority of California’s population for receiving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

He also urged more Californians to get vaccinated for COVID-19, as he echoed the advice of health experts across the United States that getting the shot is the best way out of this pandemic.

“Thank you to the people of the state of California for being mindful that this pandemic is not behind us, that as we battle this Delta variant, this mutation, which now represents 98% of the genomic tests that we are conducting, that we still have work to do,” Newsom said, announcing that 80% of eligible Californians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“So, I want to encourage everyone in that spirit but with gratitude in my heart, gratitude to all of you that have done the right thing, got that first dose, and I would remind you to take that second dose which is critical,” Newsom said.

The governor’s office also issued a warning the same day via Twitter.

“Now, we’re in a pandemic of the unvaccinated as they fill up hospitals & ICUs. Vaccines are how we end this pandemic,” a part of that tweet reads.

Those numbers increase with age, with 81.9% of Californians 18 years old or above receiving at least one dose of the vaccine and over 66% of those in the same age range being fully vaccinated, according to the California Health and Human Services Agency’s data.

Newsom spoke optimistically assessing the pandemic’s current impact on California’s health care systems.

“We’re seeing a plateauing in hospitalizations, we’re seeing a modest increase now, not a large increase, in ICUs and we have seen that positivity rate drop from 7.1%. Just a few weeks ago now down to 4.6%. It’s a long-winded way of saying this: thank you,” Newsom said.

Newsom also mentioned the possibility of booster shot access and who might need one.

“And to those that need to avail themselves, the immuno-compromised, to that booster shot, know that California is setting up the protocols and processes to make that as seamless as possible with more sites available to individuals than in any other time in the history of this pandemic,” he said.

In his official column “On the Record,” Newsom reiterated how important it is that Californians remember that we aren’t quite out of the woods yet.

So far in California, there have been 4.51 million COVID-19 cases and 66,388 deaths related to the deadly virus. Los Angeles County accounts for more than a quarter of those fatalities with 25,434 deaths.

As of September 5, there were 9,727 new cases in the state.

“This situation is very real. California is at a critical point with the Delta variant. It is extremely contagious – over 60% more transmissible than the original COVID-19 strain – and has become the dominant strain circulating in the state. The risk for exposure and infection from COVID-19 and its variants will remain until more people get vaccinated,” the governor wrote.

California Black Media’s coverage of COVID-19 is supported by the California Health Care Foundation.

Isabelle Price

Posts by Isabelle Price

Up Next

Discussing Delta: Four Influential Black Women Share Views on the Variant and Vaccination

Don't Miss

Oakland, Stand Up and Be Counted in This Recall Election

Isabelle Price

Click to comment

Bay Area

Authorities Warn: There’s a COVID Surge in California

According to data estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the coronavirus in California’s wastewater has spiked for eight consecutive weeks. Hospitalizations and emergency room visits have also increased since the rise of the new subvariants. Over the last month, Los Angeles County experienced an average of 389 hospital patients per day that tested positive for the coronavirus. The FLiRT subvariants such as KP.3.1.1. Made up over 2% of coronavirus samples nationwide, an increase of more than 7% last month.

Published

4 months ago

August 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo provided by California Black Media.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California is experiencing a COVID-19 surge this summer, experts warn, as numbers of infections increased for the third month this year.

State public health authorities attribute the summer COVID surge to more infectious subvariants that have emerged as the coronavirus evolves.

Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, stated that subvariants of COVID-19 called FLiRT increased in recent months, particularly one named KP.3.1.1 that has become the most common strain in the country.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco, said that the subvariant KP.3.1.1 seems most adept at transmission.

“The subvariant is the one that people think will continue to take over, not only in the United States, but … around the world,” Chin-Hong said.

The majority of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 complained of a sore throat and a heavy cough. Risk factors that can increase the illness include age, underlying health issues, and vaccine dosage.

Health experts stated that the demand for the COVID-19 vaccine has increased in Northern California. However, people are having a hard time getting the vaccine due to the increasing number of cases.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

California Black Media

Gov. Newsom and Gov. DeSantis Go Head-to-Head in Nationally Televised Debate

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis. As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

Published

1 year ago

December 10, 2023

Oakland Post

The debate between Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Ron DeSantis was moderated by Fox News personality Sean Hannity. California Black Media image.

By California Black Media

In an intense, 95-minute-plus televised faceoff between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Nov. 30, the men traded jabs and putdowns, defended their respective gubernatorial records, disagreed sharply on how to solve the country’s most pressing problems, and expressed clashing views on the performance of the Biden-Harris administration.

Conservative Fox News personality Sean Hannity moderated the duel, during which the TV pundit, more than once, injected his opinion, and appeared to be providing subtle assists to DeSantis.

As the debate progressed, it was clear that opinions about each topic discussed was representative of the philosophical and political chasm that divides liberal and conservative America, and a preview of campaign mudslinging that is bound to intensify as the 2024 presidential campaign ensues.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Newsom said. “I’m here to tell the truth about the Biden-Harris record and also compare and contrast Ron DeSantis’ record and the Republican Party’s record” with that of California.

DeSantis blasted Newsom’s management of the COVID-19 crisis and criticized Newsom for prevalent crime, homelessness and deteriorating social conditions in California cities.

“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” DeSantis said. “You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire. They’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned.”

Newsom took a jab at DeSantis’ presidential candidacy, predicting that the Florida Governor would be endorsing GOP frontrunner Donald Trump soon.

“There’s one thing we have in common,” Newsom said. “Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

BayCityNews

FDA Updates Approval of Pfizer Booster Vaccine for Children Under 5

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5. Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

Published

2 years ago

March 22, 2023

Oakland Post

As of December 2022, children age 4 and younger who have not been vaccinated receive the omicron variant-specific booster vaccine as the third dose in their primary vaccine series, following two doses of the original Pfizer vaccine.

By Eli Walsh
Bay City News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its approval Tuesday of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster vaccine, making it available to some children under age 5.

Before this update, children under 5 were not eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. Instead, they received three doses of the regular vaccine.

However, children in that age range who completed their initial vaccination series before December 2022 only received three doses of the original Pfizer vaccine, and are less protected against more infectious variants of the virus as a result.

FDA officials updated the vaccine’s emergency use authorization Tuesday to allow those children who only received the original Pfizer COVID vaccine to receive one dose of the bivalent booster if it has been at least two months since they completed their initial series.

Other children under age 5 are not eligible for the booster, although everyone age 5 and up is eligible for a booster.

“Currently available data show that vaccination remains the best defense against severe disease, hospitalization and death caused by COVID-19 across all age groups, and we encourage all eligible individuals to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine,” said Dr. Peter Marks, the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Clinical data has found that both the original Pfizer vaccine and the booster vaccine that targets the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are safe for everyone aged 6 months and up and effective at preventing the worst outcomes of COVID infection, including serious illness and death.

COVID vaccines are available at primary care providers, retail pharmacies and some facilities operated by local health departments.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.