by Sydney Williams
Welcome to 2021 - New year, same pandemic. Here's the latest in a COVID-19 update with news about the vaccine.
With COVID-19 continuing to ravage the country and California unemployment rates still high, this past holiday season was like no other. No Black Friday campouts. No massive after-Christmas sales or in-person returns at stores. No sought-after family gatherings to ring in the new year. People have spent more time indoors, isolated, and online than ever before. As we see neighborhood restaurants and shops closing their doors across the country, we know that brick-and-mortar businesses have taken a serious hit. The internet proved itself essential to even the most ‘old school’ of us, swooping in to save the day. E-commerce made the equivalent to five whole years of growth in just six months last year, keeping refrigerators stocked, closets full, and holiday gifts aplenty. Technology is both a tool and a burden, but in light of recent events, our economy surely owes it some gratitude. 2021 has just begun and we have kicked off the year mostly indoors in California - except for those essential workers who are taking care of the country, feeding and tending to people, and keeping key infrastructure humming.
As of January 15th, 93% of counties in California were classified as being at a “widespread risk” level. Moreover, a regional ‘Stay-at-Home’ order has been put in place in the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California. For the order to be eligible to end, ICU bed availability must be equal to or below 15% in a four week projection. To say the very least, we have all been searching for that light at the end of this COVID-19 tunnel.
It feels like we have been stuck indoors and outside the wholesome embrace of our loved ones for far too long. Luckily, VACCINATIONS ARE ON THE HORIZON! The distribution of COVID-19 vaccines have been split into three phases. Phase 1A, which exclusively vaccinated healthcare providers and persons who are 75 years and older, is near completion. Therefore, phase 1B is moving into the spotlight. In this phase, the next to be vaccinated will be individuals who are 65 to 74 years old, have higher risk for severe disease or death, are unable to work remotely (select occupations), live in highly impacted geographic areas, or are most likely to be a cause of community spread of the virus. The final stage of phase 1 will be phase 1C. This yet-to-come phase will offer vaccinations to individuals 16 to 64 years old and further extend to people in occupations which require them to commute to work. Check here for more details and to see how soon you can be eligible for the vaccine.
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