Q: What's the difference in numbers between people getting COVID who are vaccinated and those who aren't?

Most of the people getting infected with COVID in our county, and across the country, are unvaccinated. In Stanislaus County, there are 4 unvaccinated people testing positive for COVID for every COVID-positive vaccinated person.  When looking at hospitalizations and deaths, 84% of people hospitalized and 92% of deaths are unvaccinated. Vaccines are doing a great job at keeping people from becoming seriously ill and dying from COVID-19. This information is updated every Monday on the Stanislaus County COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard.

Q: What can I do if my employer isn't following the COVID guidelines? 

If your employer is not taking action to protect you, other workers, and the general public from COVID-19 at the workplace, there are steps you can take.

• The first step you can take is to raise concerns through your employer’s pre-designated channels of communication. That might be your supervisor or Human Resources.   
• You may call the County’s Business Hotline at 209-558-4473 during regular business hours.
• If necessary, you may also file a complaint by calling the local Cal/OSHA office at (209) 545-7310 or sending an email to doshmod@dir.ca.gov.

Q: Is the COVID vaccine booster shot different from the initial series COVID vaccine?

While the booster doses are not yet approved for anyone, we anticipate that the Pfizer booster will be the same as the current Pfizer vaccine. Information is not yet available about potential booster doses of Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines available to people with weakened immune systems as a third dose are the same vaccines that they received as doses 1 and 2. There is no additional dose approved for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.