 "Hindsight is 2020"
I think most of us will agree that the faster we get 2020 in our hindsight, the better!
The old adage “Hindsight is 20/20” tells us that we should learn from our experiences. Yet, have we? We need only look at the Spanish flu that hit our country in 1918 to see that maybe we don’t learn – or maybe we shouldn’t bother to worry about distant future disasters.
With the COVID-19 vaccine at hand, it’s obvious that we need to think of the future - step up and get vaccinated. I know some do not believe and will not get the vaccine - and I am not here to argue. This is a call to those who believe in modern science – to those who believe we need to protect not only ourselves but our community. These have been trying times, no doubt. But who wants to ever repeat them?
I urge all of you to get the vaccine whenever you can – for the sake of our families as well as our future generations and communities. Let’s keep 2020 in our hindsight and move forward - to days full of hugs, high fives and lots of family gatherings!
May 2021 be happy, safe and, above all, healthy for you and your family.
 This holiday season take extra steps to ensure that you are safe and ready to enjoy the holly and jolly of this time of year.
Below are a few tips to provide the peace of mind you need for a safe and joyous holiday season:
- Track your packages and bring them in as soon as they are delivered to dissuade roaming porch pirates from stealing them.
- Don’t provide exact travel location details online.
- Install a security camera near your front door to deter thieves.
- Check your car’s fluids, brake lights and windshield wipers prior to any long trip.
- Inspect your home’s cords and cables to ensure fire safety while you’re entertaining.
- After shopping in a store, secure your bags and packages before exiting and have the keys to your car accessible
The holidays are meant to be a time with friends and family as you enjoy the blessings and lessons of this year. Check off this list to ease your mind before you travel and enjoy this bright and merry season.
 Update on COVID-19 in El Dorado County for Thursday, November 17, 2020.
-- 93 cases (4,412)
0 in Pollock Pines/Camino/Kyburz; 27 in EDH; 4 in Diamond Springs/El Dorado; 7 in North County; 33 in Greater Placerville; 20 in Cameron Park/Shingle Springs/Rescue; 2 in South County; 0 in Lake Tahoe region; (0) awaiting address confirmation (total awaiting address confirmation is 45)
-- 11 age 0-17, 30 age 18-49, 33 age 50-64, 19 age 65+
-- (620) additional negative test results
-- 93 assumed recoveries (2,761)
-- 28 hospitalizations/10 ICU
-- 12.0% positivity
-- no additional deaths (8)
-- Regional Stay At Home Order in effect
With respect to the tier assignment measures (this is according to CDPH as of this morning):
- Adjusted case rate: 44.6
- Positivity rate: 12.6%
- Health equity quartile positivity rate: 17%
Scammers take advantage of every opportunity. They're sly, believable & prey on fears. Don't let this new crop of COVID-19 vaccine fraudsters take advantage of YOU! Report internet fraud efforts to the Sheriff's Office http://ow.ly/8nsB50COEww or call (530) 621-5655.
- You likely will not need to pay anything out of pocket to get the vaccine during this public health emergency.
- You cannot pay to put your name on a list to get the vaccine.
- You cannot pay to get early access to the vaccine.
- no one from Medicare or the Health Department will contact you.
- No one from a vaccine distribution site or health care payer, like a private insurance company, will call you asking for your Social Security number or your credit card or bank account information to sign you up to get the vaccine.
Check with your health care provider before paying for or receiving any COVID-19-related treatment.
El Dorado County is receiving 975 doses of the Pfizer brand vaccine on or about December 17, 2020 and 2200 doses of the Moderna brand vaccine on or about December 22, 2020.
The state has prioritized vaccination rollout into phases; the first, phase 1A, is sub-prioritized into tiers. Click here to view.
Working with a multi-agency coordination group, the first allotment of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to El Dorado County has been allocated to frontline health care workers at both hospitals in the county (Marshall Medical in Placerville and Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe), Emergency Medical Services first responders, as well as long term care facility and correctional staff due to their congregate environments.
Long term care facilities are participating in a federal program to receive vaccinations for their additional staff and residents that will follow shortly behind the county allocation and from a different supply and distribution chain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What El Dorado County facilities are receiving doses of the COVID-19 vaccine?
A: The County is following State guidelines in developing its COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan. It is a phased and tiered approach.
Phase 1a includes people at risk of exposure through their work in any role in direct health care or long-term care settings. As such, Barton Health and Marshall Medical will receive the first allocation of Pfizer vaccine.
The first tier within Phase 1a includes the following groups:
- Acute care, psychiatric and correctional facility hospitals
- Skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and similar settings for older or medically vulnerable individuals
- Also, in concordance with ACIP, residents in these settings
- Paramedics, EMTs and others providing emergency medical services
- Dialysis centers
We are solely focused on the first tier at this time.
Q: When are they receiving their doses?
A: Barton received its allotment on Dec. 17th. Marshall will receive its allotment on Sunday, December 20th.
Q: How many doses will each facility receive?
A: Barton received 510 doses; Marshall will receive 390.
Q: Who will be vaccinated first?
A: Phase 1a only includes health care workers and employees at skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and similar long-term care settings for older or medically vulnerable individuals. The majority of our County's skilled nursing and long-term care facilities are under a federal program to receive doses. See information about this program here.
Q: When will fire and emergency Medical
Services personnel be vaccinated?
A: They will receive the Moderna vaccine, tentatively scheduled for the week of December 21st.
Q: When will our Community Health Center workers be vaccinated?
A: They will receive the Moderna vaccine, tentatively scheduled the week of December 21st?
Q: When will Phase 1a be completed?
A: It is hard to predict, but we are hopeful that everyone in Phase 1a by the end of January, 2021.
Q: When will vaccines be available for essential workers, teachers and the general public?
A: It is hard to predict when these categories of people will receive the vaccine, but we are hopeful all El Dorado County residents who wish to be vaccinated will have the opportunity by Spring 2021.
Q: Will I still need to wear a mask after getting the vaccine?
A: Yes. While experts learn more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide under real-life conditions, it will be important for everyone to continue using all the tools available to us to help stop this pandemic, like covering your mouth and nose with a mask, washing hands often, staying at least six feet away from others, and not gathering with people you don't live with. Together, COVID-19 vaccination and following CDC's recommendations for how to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from getting and spreading COVID-19.
Together, COVID-19 vaccination and recommendations for how to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from getting and spreading COVID-19. We need to understand more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide before we change recommendations on mask use.
Q: How many vaccine doses are needed to be fully effective?
A: The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses to be fully effective. The manufactured doses should not be interchanged, i.e., if your first dose is from Pfizer, the second needs to be from Pfizer. The second dose should be administered three weeks after the first dose.
Q: Will a flu vaccine protect me against COVID-19?
A: Getting a flu vaccine will not protect against COVID-19, however flu vaccination has many other important benefits. Flu vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitalization and death. Getting a flu vaccine this fall will be more important than ever, not only to reduce your risk from flu but also to help conserve potentially scarce health care and public health resources. Coinfection has been shown to dramatically increase mortality rate by up to 43%.
Q: What are the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine?
A: Among the 36,000+ people who have received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine through phase 3 clinical trials (Pfizer and Moderna), no serious safety concerns have been reported. Some participants reported transient side effects including: sore arm, fever, muscle pain and fatigue that resolved in 24 hours. Older adults reported fewer and milder side effects. In a small percentage of cases these side effects were severe — defined as preventing daily activities.
Q: Can I get COVID-19 from the vaccine?
A: None of the COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States use the live virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms that are normal and are a sign that the body is building immunity, including fever. Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.
It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after vaccination. That means it's possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.
Q: If I've recovered from COVID-19, do I still need to get a vaccine?
A: Due to the severe health risks associated with COVID-19 and the fact that re-infection with COVID-19 is possible, people may be advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine even if they have been sick with COVID-19 before. At this time, experts do not know how long someone is protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19. The immunity someone gains from having an infection, called natural immunity, varies from person to person. Some early evidence suggests natural immunity may not last very long. We won't know how long immunity produced by vaccination lasts until we have a vaccine and more data on how well it works.
Q: What can I expect when I get vaccinated?
A: Please read the following from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
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