To schedule an appointment, please visit the County vaccination page or call the COVID-19 helpline at (909) 387-3911, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
An Inside Look at the COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution Process
Every week San Bernardino County provides a shot for hope to its residents to end the COVID-19 pandemic. What most people don’t realize is that getting the vaccines into people’s arms takes a county-wide, coordinated team effort from start to finish.
This video gives an up-close, behind-the-scenes look at the amazing logistical effort it takes with a network of partners and providers. And with a county as large as ours, our vaccine couriers can travel up to 213 miles one way to deliver these life-saving drugs!
County Providing Rental Assistance to Renters, Landlords
San Bernardino County has established an emergency rental assistance program that will disperse more than $46.8 million in rental assistance to residents affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and economic shutdown. The funds were provided through the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
The San Bernardino County Rent Relief Partnership, established in collaboration with Inland SoCal 211+, will contribute up to 12 months of overdue rent and/or potential rent payments to residents who have struggled to make payments. Applicants can apply for arrears accrued from March 13, 2020 to present and the program will be available through Dec. 31, 2021 or until all funds are exhausted.
“This program will bring much-needed relief to tenants trying desperately to stay in their homes and, in turn, landlords who have been hard-hit by the economic effects of the pandemic,” said County Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “The County’s partnership with Inland SoCal 211+ is a key step toward economic recovery for our region.”
Landlords who have tenants that are behind on rent can initiate the application process on behalf of their tenants, as long as the tenant provides consent and completes the tenant portion of the application process. Landlords for more than one rental household will need to submit a form for each rental household.
To receive assistance, renters must meet the following criteria:
- Household members must reside within San Bernardino County (see exceptions below for cities of San Bernardino and Fontana).
- The household must have a family income equal to or less than 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI), as outlined in the application.
- One or more individuals within the household qualified for unemployment benefits or experienced financial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the COVID-19 outbreak.
- One or more persons within the household may demonstrate the risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
- One or more persons within 50% of the AMI household are unemployed on the date of the assistance application and have not been employed during the 90-day period prior to that date.
Residents of the cities of Fontana and San Bernardino should apply directly to their respective cities for assistance. Applicants from these cities applying for the County program will be redirected to their corresponding programs.
For more information and to submit an application to receive assistance, please visit the County’s Rent Relief website or the ISC211 website.
County Pauses Distribution of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine
San Bernardino County has temporarily paused use of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine in accordance with recommendations made “out of an abundance of caution” by state and federal health agencies.
The pause was issued in response to six reported out-of-state cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S. The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices convenes today to review the cases.
“The County has no higher priority than the health and safety of our residents,” said Dr. Michael A. Sequeira, San Bernardino County Health Officer. “Although this condition is extremely rare among J&J recipients – much rarer than serious blood clots among those who contract COVID-19 – the pause is prudent pending further federal review.”
County-operated vaccination events scheduled to utilize the J&J vaccine have been switched to Pfizer. Those with appointments for those events are being notified. There are no plans to cancel any vaccination events at this time and second-dose appointments will be made when first doses of Pfizer are administered.
“The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines remain widely available in our county and have proven to be safe and effective,” Sequeira said. “The public should remain confident in the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination effort.”
Anyone who has received the J&J vaccine and who develops a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath should contact their health care provider, Sequeira said.
County-run vaccination clinics have primarily used the Pfizer vaccine. J&J accounts for 48,600, or 6.6%, of the 738,225 vaccine doses received in San Bernardino County. Pfizer accounts for 49.5% and Moderna 43.9%.
The county has 8,500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine on hand. Those doses will be kept in storage pending further direction from the state and federal governments.
Additional information is available on a fact sheet published by the County.
Air Travel is Back! What to Expect When Flying from Ontario International Airport
With COVID-19 infection rates continuing to decline and the county in the state’s Orange Tier, many local residents are returning to air travel.
So what can you expect when flying in or out of Ontario International Airport?
Airport officials say that Ontario International’s recovery from the pandemic is among the most rapid of all U.S. airports, and recently announced the resumption of service to key destinations and the addition of new ones.
“We’ve been seeing passenger traffic steadily returning,” said Atif Elkadi, the airport’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer. “Last year we resumed or began new service to five destinations — Atlanta, Midway Airport in Chicago, Houston, Seattle and Mexico City — and this spring added flights to another nine markets: O’Hare Airport in Chicago, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Miami, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento and San Francisco. There are a lot of options for travelers.”
Elkadi attributed much of the increase in traffic to the airport’s ONTo What Matters Most initiative, a multifaceted, airport-wide program designed to protect the health and safety of travelers, visitors and airport staff. Elements include:
- The frequent cleaning and disinfecting of planes and the airport itself
- Locating hand sanitizer stations throughout the facility
- The installation of UV-sterilization technology on escalator rails for frequent cleaning
- Installation of plexiglass partitions at airline ticket counters, information desks, shops, and restaurants
- Limiting restaurant capacity to 50%, with seats removed to permit social distancing.
Airport visitors are required to follow a few simple rules to protect their own health and that of others. For example, face coverings are obligatory everywhere on airport property and on every airline, and social distancing is required.
There are additional requirements for those flying to Hawaii; for example, travelers must show results from a negative COVID-19 test in order to fly into Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (formerly known as Honolulu International Airport), and negative tests are required for all passengers traveling into the United States from abroad.
Elkadi also said that travelers equipped with smartphones can easily practice social distancing at the airport by taking advantage of its “Guide to a Socially Distant Journey.”
“Passengers can pre-book parking at booking.flyontario.com and scan in with a QR code, then check-in to their flight and pay for their baggage on their particular airline’s app or website,” he said. Once they’ve passed through security, they can connect to the airport’s free WiFi service, FlyONT.
And since some airlines are no longer providing in-flight service, Cello recommends selecting one of the airport’s numerous restaurants, picking up a quick meal and then paying for it via a contact-free system such as Apple Pay or Google Pay.
“We’ve gone to considerable lengths to make traveling safe and easy,” he said. “We realize many people are eager to get out of town and we want to help them relax by emphasizing that their health is our paramount concern.”
To keep up with what’s happening at the airport, sign up for their “Inside ONT” newsletter, here.
Sheriff Update on Inmates and Employees Testing Positive for COVID
A total of 992 County jail inmates have tested positive for COVID-19. Many of the inmates are only experiencing minor symptoms of the virus. The infected inmates are in isolation, being monitored around the clock, and are being provided with medical treatment. A total of 988 inmates have recovered from the illness.
A total of 1,025 department employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and are self-isolating at home; 1,014 employees have recovered from the virus. Other employees are expected to return to work in the next few weeks. It is unknown when or where the employees were infected with the virus. The department continues to encourage all department members to heed the warnings of health officials.
Latest Stats
294,101 Confirmed Cases (up 0.1% from the previous day)
4,265 Deaths (up 0.6% from the previous day)
2,810,962 Tests (up 0.1% from the previous day)
For more statistics from the COVID-19 Surveillance Dashboard, click the desktop or mobile tab on the County’s sbcovid19.com website.
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