 Many Young, Healthy People Still Need to Get Vaccinated Against COVID-19
While the number of San Bernardino County residents getting vaccinated against COVID-19 continues to climb with nearly 60 percent who have had at least one shot, young people ages 18 to 49 are the largest group of people who aren’t lining up for their shots in enough numbers.
The County’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard shows:
- 55 percent of county residents ages 18-34 not vaccinated
- 45 percent of county residents ages 35-49 not vaccinated
Rodney Borger, M.D., chair of the emergency department at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, hears the mantra “my body, my choice” and while he agrees that is true, he says young and healthy people should feel a responsibility to protect others in society, particularly with the highly contagious Delta variant.
With previous variants of COVID-19, one infected person infected two to three other people. Now with the Delta variant, a person with COVID-19 can infect up to six people.
“If you are vaccinated, the chance you are going to get infected and transmit it to other people is much lower,” Borger said. “The reason a young and healthy person gets immunized has to do with decreasing transmission. The reason you are taking the vaccine has something to do with more than just you. You have a responsibility to older folks, to people who have diabetes, and people who are more susceptible. You can choose not to get vaccinated, but people forget sometimes their choice can affect others.”
Even young and healthy people without underlying conditions have landed in the hospital and need help breathing with oxygen and sometimes a ventilator, which is hard to recover from, Borger said.
“Just when you think it is mostly affecting older folks, you see a run of young and healthy folks in their 30s and 40s,” Borger said. “Most of them have some sort of regret.”
Borger recalls stories of those who didn’t take the opportunity to get vaccinated. For instance, an unvaccinated patient who lost an immediate family member to COVID-19 now finds themselves fighting for their life in a local hospital intensive care unit. A patient who got COVID-19 and infected her unvaccinated adult daughter, who now must quarantine.
“The daughter said she just didn’t have time to get vaccinated with work and everything,” Borger said. “The vast majority of the unvaccinated we are seeing in the hospital are not anti-vaxxers, they are people who just haven’t got around to it.”
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended pregnant people get vaccinated to protect themselves from the virus because data shows they are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 when compared to those who are not pregnant.
In San Bernardino County, more than 2,000 people who were pregnant contracted COVID-19 and one woman who was 32 years old died from the virus in July 2020. Her baby survived.
After going through the winter COVID-19 surge and coming through it with the hope of vaccines in the spring, Borger and other health care workers now find themselves feeling pandemic fatigue, a feeling made more frustrating by the availability of vaccines, but not enough people doing their part to get them.
“You feel a little bit like Charlie Brown where he is kicking the football and Lucy is pulling it away,” he said. “Just when you think you are done with COVID, it rises up again.”
New Features on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard Show Vaccines Work
The County’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard has new features showing the number of cases and deaths since Feb. 1 and whether those cases and deaths were people who were fully vaccinated or unvaccinated. The numbers show a large disparity between those who received their shots and those who have not.
So far, 93.2 percent of COVID-19 cases were of those not fully vaccinated and only 4.8 percent of cases were among the fully vaccinated. Since Feb. 1, 5 people in San Bernardino County died who were fully vaccinated and 216 people died who were not fully vaccinated.
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Vaccine Events in San Bernardino County
To make an appointment, visit sbcovid19.com or walk up to the location.
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Baker – Baker Elementary and High School, 72100 Schoolhouse Ln., Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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Barstow – Barstow Community College, 2700 Barstow Rd., Thursday, Aug. 19, 1 to 5 p.m.
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Fontana – Fontana Community Center, 16710 Ceres Ave., Wednesday, Aug. 18, and every Wednesday in September, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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Montclair – Hacienda Mobile Home Estates, 4361 Mission Blvd., Monday, Aug. 16, noon to 6 p.m.
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Montclair – Monterey Manor Mobile Home Estates, 11250 Ramona Ave., Saturday, Aug. 21, noon to 6 p.m.
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Montclair – Villa Montclair Mobile Home Park, 5580 Moreno St., Thursday, Aug. 19, noon to 6 p.m.
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Muscoy – Baker Family Learning Center, 2818 N. Macy St., Friday, Aug. 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Rialto – Rialto Farmer’s Market, 290 W. Rialto Ave., Wednesdays, August – November 11th, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Running Springs, Running Springs Library, 2677 Whispering Pines Dr., today, Aug. 13, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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Yucaipa, Valley View Mobile Home Park, 12995 6th, Tuesday, Aug. 17, noon to 6 p.m.
Transportation Services Continue to Be Offered to Vaccination Sites
El Sol is offering free rides through Uber to a vaccination site near you. To request a ride, call El Sol’s COVID-19 helpline at 800-901-5541. The helpline is available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Young Visionaries is providing free Uber rides to a COVID-19 vaccination site in the city of San Bernardino and the High Desert region. To make an appointment, text 909-513-4316 or register through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-uber-ride-to-receive-your-vaccinationtesting-tickets-156733198215
Victor Valley Transit Authority is providing a free door-to-door shuttle service called the Vaccine Xpress for residents 65 and older with vaccine appointments at Hook Community Center in Victorville or Our Lady of the Desert Catholic Church in the Town of Apple Valley. Rides are by appointment only.
Call 760-948-3030 to book your ride. More information about Vaccine Xpress.
 Board Shifts Battle Against Illegal Cannabis into High Gear
The Board of Supervisors this week made San Bernardino County hostile territory for illegal cannabis farms.
Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to impose civil fines of up to $10,000 per day on illegal growers as well as property owners, plus criminal fines of up to an additional $10,000 plus jail time for illicit farms, effective immediately, as well as expanded resources for law enforcement to identify and take out these operations.
“The Board of Supervisors delivered on our promise to aggressively tackle the illegal cannabis problem that is devastating our rural communities,” said Board Vice Chair Dawn Rowe. “The goal of this urgency ordinance that went into effect today is to hold illegal growers accountable and send a message that they are not welcome in San Bernardino County.”
Outdoor cannabis cultivation is illegal in the unincorporated areas of the county. Yet following the 2016 passage of Proposition 64, which reduced illegal growing from a felony to misdemeanor, the county’s desert areas have seen an explosion in large-scale illegal cannabis farms, spreading fear among neighbors and threatening the desert’s fragile environment.
“Many of these illegal growers are tied to international cartels, threatening residents with physical violence, stealing our water and electricity, and dumping trash and poisonous chemicals into our desert landscape,” said Col. Paul Cook (Ret.), First District Supervisor. “We are hopeful that these fines will serve as an additional deterrent as we continue the battle against this serious threat to our communities.”
Desert residents who have voiced strong opposition to the sudden proliferation of illegal cannabis farms praised and thanked the board for its decisive action.
The County is engaged in a multi-disciplinary approach in its battle against illegal cannabis farming, mustering the resources of the Sheriff, District Attorney, Land Use/Code Enforcement, County Fire, Public Health/Environmental Health, Agriculture/Weights and Measures, County Counsel, and the County Administrative Office.
Sheriff Shannon Dicus announced on Tuesday that with the additional financial support from the Board of Supervisors his cannabis enforcement effort, Operation Hammer Strike, will expand from the existing one team into five teams.
“These teams will be able to aggressively attack the existing illegal cannabis cultivation in the county,” Dicus said.
The following numbers illustrate the magnitude of this issue within the county:
- 1,085 – Pending Identified Illegal Grows
- 272 – Total Search Warrants Served
- 35 – Illegal Bypass Grows
- 251 – Total Arrests (39-Felony & 212-Misdemeanor)
- 52 – Firearms Seized/Recovered
- 404,598 – Plants Seized ($242.8 million)
- 21,029 – Pounds of Processed Cannabis Seized ($25.2 million)
- $129,056 – U.S. Currency Seized
County Welcomes New Public Health Director
Josh Dugas, a 20-year veteran of the County Public Health Department who has served as the assistant public health director since October, has been appointed as the new County Public Health Director effective Aug. 14.
“Josh possesses a special combination of superior customer service, grace under pressure, commitment to teamwork, positive attitude, and ability to deliver what is needed to move this county’s public health mission forward,” County Chief Executive Officer Leonard X. Hernandez said in announcing his appointment of Dugas.
The County conducted a national recruitment to ensure that the best possible candidate would be chosen for this important position.
“The fact that Josh clearly prevailed in that process speaks to his talent, knowledge, and experience,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “It is also a testament to the strength of this county government organization and the efforts we make to identify and develop the talented people within our ranks.”
Josh is the quintessential County success story. He began his career with the County nearly 20 years ago as an Environmental Health Specialist I. He consistently promoted through the Public Health Department, eventually becoming Chief of Environmental Health Services, Public Health Chief Financial Officer, and – just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to peak – Assistant Director of Public Health.
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Andrew Goldfrach, who has served as interim public health director since the March 2021 retirement of 32-year public health veteran Corwin Porter, will return to his position at ARMC full time.
“It has been a great experience working with this talented team during this defining moment in the field of public health,” Goldfrach said. “But my focus has always been on hospitals, so I am very happy to be returning to ARMC.”
 County Museums Welcome Visitors with Three Fantastic Exhibits
Here Comes the Sun: Solar Science and Spirituality Exhibit
Imagine being surrounded by orange waves and currents flowing along the sun as it turns. Watch the sun rotate from Earth’s perspective. The San Bernardino County Museum brings Here Comes the Sun: Solar Science & Spirituality, an awe-inspiring imagery experience to visitors through a floor-to-ceiling projection with footage of “Solarium” provided by NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory. This exhibit is a captivating, bilingual journey of the sun and the impact it has had on the Inland Empire region. Visitors can fully experience the beauty and wonder of the sun in this innovative art exhibition through the end of the year.
SuperMonsterCity! America’s Monsters, Superheroes, and Villains Exhibit
The SuperMonsterCity! America’s Monsters, Superheroes, and Villains is a magnificent collection of 300+ action figures, posters, games and more from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and 2010s consisting of superheroes, monsters, and villains. The collection ranges from well-known DC and Marvel comic book characters to Hollywood monsters of the 1960s. These toys are presented alongside their original packaging, posters, and other advertising materials that give further insight into the historical contexts and the evolution of toy design. Visitors can experience this action-packed display now through August 29, 2021.
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Military in the Mojave Exhibit
The Victor Valley Museum in Apple Valley features a new exhibit, Military in the Mojave. Beginning in the 20th century, a significant economic and cultural force emerged in the High Desert – the United States Armed Forces. George Air Force Base in Victorville, Fort Irwin in the Calico Mountains, the Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, and others forever shaped the economy and culture of the High Desert community and created a legacy of national and local pride that continues to this day. The Military in the Mojave exhibit features artifacts and stories of the role that local residents played during wartime, including USAF Captain Joseph McConnell, and Purple Heart recipient Army Lt. Manuel Rodriguez.
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 Next Advisory Redistricting Commission Meeting in Barstow on Aug. 19
Barstow Council Chambers is the next location for the Advisory Redistricting Commission Meeting where the public can continue to help map out the future of San Bernardino County’s supervisorial districts.
The meeting begins at 10 a.m. at 220 E. Mountain View St. #A in Barstow and will be livestreamed from the County’s redistricting website sbcountyredistricting.com.
Every 10 years, the County uses the newest U.S. Census data to redraw the boundaries of each of the five Board of Supervisors districts to ensure each has essentially has the same number of residents, preserves communities of interest such as cities as much as possible, and complies with the Voting Rights Act. The County’s redistricting website offers a wealth of information on the process and schedule as well as contact information and a tool that allows anyone to create and submit their own map of the county’s new supervisorial districts.
Information on upcoming meetings can be found on the redistricting website’s calendar page. All meetings can be viewed from the County’s redistricting website and video recordings of past meetings can be viewed on the redistricting website’s past meetings page.
Sign up for email updates on county redistricting and receive notices about upcoming meetings and other opportunities to participate.
Sheriff’s Update on Inmates and Employees Testing Positive for COVID-19
A total of 1,245 County jail inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic; of these, 50 current inmates are experiencing minor symptoms and are recovering. The infected inmates are isolated, monitored around the clock, and provided with medical treatment.
A total of 1,132 department employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,076 of the 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
315,189 Confirmed Cases (up 0.2% from the previous day)
4,867 Deaths (up 0% from the previous day)
3,550,534 Tests (up 0.3% 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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