COVID-19 update: Tulare County working on vaccinating more in Latino community

Tulare County health officials are making concerted efforts to reach out to agricultural and food workers to increase COVID-19 inoculation rates in Latino communities. 

The state of Califonia released a breakdown of Tulare County vaccine recipients that found only 35% of those being vaccinated were Latino despite more than 60% of the county is comprised of Latinos. 

The state's most recent Tulare County vaccine numbers include: 

• 38.5% White
• 35.2% Latino
• 9.2% Multi-race
• 6.6% Unknown
• 3.2% Asian American
• 6% Other
• .8% Black
• .3% American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN)
• .2% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (NHPI)

Of the nearly 458,809 residents of Tulare County, 63% identify as Latino, 29% as white, 3.2% as Asian, 1.3% as Black, 0.2% as two or more races, 0.7% as American Indian or Alaska Native, and .1% as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. 

A major factor in the slow vaccination rate in Tulare County's Latino community was that white people were over-represented in frontline medical workers who were prioritized by federal requirements to get the first inoculations, local health officials said. 

"You're going to see those demographic numbers shift dramatically in the next few weeks," said Carrie Monterio, public information officer for Tulare County HHSA.

In a recent survey with Hispanic and Latino-dominated Tulare County ag and food-related businesses, the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency found 25,000 workers willing to get the COVID-19 vaccinations. 

"The county is currently working with ag and food industry to make sure that population will get inoculated," Monterio said. 

More vaccine help on the way

Monterio is also hopeful that as more vaccines are distributed to pharmacies and rural clinics, inoculation rates will continue to rise across all demographic lines. 

Another potentially helpful sign: The expected federally run mass vaccination site at the Save Mart Center on the campus of Fresno State. That mass vaccine site would be open to anyone qualified to get a shot in the region, not just Fresno County residents. 

The federal government will supply the vaccine, which could amount to as many as 6,000 shots a day. 

The same policy goes for pharmacies, Monterio said. If you are a member of a qualified vaccine tier and you can schedule an appointment at a pharmacy anywhere in Tulare, Fresno, or Kern counties, don't hesitate to do so. 

Monterio pointed out the vaccines federally distributed to rural clinics, pharmacies, and the potential mass vaccination site would be in addition to the vaccines sent to Tulare County. 

You can register to get a COVID-19 vaccine at CVS and Walgreens websites.  Residents can use “My Turn,” a new statewide tool, to register and make appointments at the mass vaccine site when it opens. 

Overall in California, more than 6 million doses have been administered throughout California with at least 1 million people receiving both doses. The state is getting roughly 1 million doses a week, with a significant share reserved for second shots, said Newsom.

COVID-19 metrics continue downward trend

California continues to see lower rates of new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations, although deaths are falling more slowly. The state on Monday reported another 200 deaths, bringing the total since the outbreak began to more than 47,000 – the highest in the nation. The state also reported nearly 6,500 new cases, bringing the total number of recorded coronavirus infections to 3.4 million.

The rate of new Tulare County COVID-19 infections also continues to drop. The county is on pace for just over 3,000 new infections in February, the lowest rate since October. 

As of Wednesday, the county's COVID-19 daily case rate is now 21 per 100,000 population, the positivity rate is 8.4%. To move from the state's most restrictive COVID-19 purple tier, the county must report fewer than eight daily cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity under 8% for 14 consecutive days.

Since the pandemic hit Tulare County in mid-March, 47,220 people have been infected, and 706 people have died from COVID-19 complications.

James Ward covers entertainment, news, sports and lifestyles for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. Follow him on Twitter. Get alerts and keep up on all things Tulare County for as little as $1 a month. Subscribe today.