The county announced earlier this week the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 shot will resume at its clinics saying, “local health officials on Monday lifted the pause on the drug.” It will be used at the Alessandro High School clinic in Hemet starting Thursday and expand to more sites the following week.
“Bringing back the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will provide us with another tool to help vaccinate as many Riverside County residents as possible,” said Dr. Geoffrey Leung, public health officer for Riverside County. “We are confident the vaccine is safe and effective.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Monday, “After a temporary pause, CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommend use of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (J&J/Janssen) COVID-19 Vaccine resume in the United States. A review of all available data at this time shows that the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks. However, women under 50 years old should be aware of the rare but increased risk of the adverse event called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), and that there are other COVID-19 vaccine options available for which this risk has not been seen. CDC and FDA will continue to monitor the safety of all COVID-19 vaccines.”
“The single dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine makes it more convenient for residents and helps our county teams vaccinate more people faster without the need for a second dose weeks later,” said Chair Spiegel, Second District Supervisor. “Safety is a priority in all vaccine.”
The county wrote, “Riverside County has approximately 17,000 doses of the J&J vaccine on hand and it has been administered more than 17,000 times in the county without a severe reaction. Overall, more than 1.5 million doses have been administered of the J&J, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in Riverside County among the county run clinics, and those operated by community partners and other providers.”
The county also launched an online survey in both English and Spanish to “better understand the public’s feelings about vaccination and the experiences they have had with coronavirus to this point.” The survey should take five minutes.
“Knowing how residents are feeling about vaccination helps us to know how we can better assist them with any concerns they may have about the vaccine,” said Kim Saruwatari, director of Riverside University Health System – Public Health.
“Hearing directly from our residents will inform our ongoing efforts towards community education and make vaccinations more accessible, convenient and timely,” said Spiegel.
Visit https://elucd.typeform.com/to/cSn76Wwf#latitude=xxxxx&longitude=xxxxx&source=xxxxx, to access the survey.
According to the Riverside University Health System – Public Health (RUHS) website, the area of Idyllwild-Pine Cove has a total of 117 reported COVID-19 cases since the outbreak and two deaths reported. One hundred and thirteen of the 117 people have recovered.
As of press time on April 27, Riverside County has 298,259 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 4,563 deaths related to COVID-19 and 291,748 people have recovered. Seventy-eight individuals are being hospitalized, and of those, 21 are in the ICU. The county’s positivity rate is 2.1%. The current adjusted case rate per 100,000 is 3.9. The county is reporting that 29.5% of its population has received the full dose of the COVID-19 shot.
As of press time on April 20, Riverside County had 297,620 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 4,547 deaths related to COVID-19 and 291,022 people had recovered. Eighty-two individuals were being hospitalized, and of those, 14 were in the ICU. The county’s positivity rate was 2.0%. The current adjusted case rate per 100,000 was 3.6. The county was reporting that 24.9% of its population had received the full dose of the COVID-19 shot.
As of press time on April 13, Riverside County had 296,801 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 4,504 deaths related to COVID-19 and 290,048 people had recovered. Ninety-five individuals were being hospitalized, and of those, 22 were in the ICU. The county’s positivity rate was 2.0%. The current adjusted case rate per 100,000 was 3.5. The county was reporting that 21.8% of its population had received the full dose of the COVID-19 shot.
To date, 2,914,083 total tests have been given for COVID-19 in Riverside County, according to RUHS. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Riverside County has an estimated population of 2.47 million.
The CDC defines vaccine as “A product that stimulates a person’s immune system to produce immunity to a specific disease, protecting the person from that disease. Vaccines are usually administered through needle injections, but can also be administered by mouth or sprayed into the nose.”
For more information on the COVID-19 shot, visit www.rivcoph.org/COVID-19-Vaccine or call 2-1-1. Seniors can call the Riverside County Office on Aging at 800-510-2020.
For rental assistance, visit https://www.unitedlift.org/. Supervisor Chuck Washington’s office let residents know “the program will provide one-time rental assistance support to cover up to 12 months of unpaid rent during the period between March 13, 2020, until the time of application, plus an additional three months of future rent. Eligibility is limited to renters in Riverside County with a current lease agreement who are earning 80% or below of the area’s median income and can document a loss of income due to COVID-19 economic impacts that leave them unable to make their rent. Assistance is provided without regard to immigration status.”
The Small Business Administration (SBA) “will begin registrations on Friday, April 30, 2021, at 9 a.m. EDT and open applications on Monday, May 3, 2021, at noon EDT for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The online application will remain open to any eligible establishment until all funds are exhausted.” It is a $28.6 billion fund.
“Restaurants are the core of our neighborhoods and propel economic activity on main streets across the nation. They are among the businesses that have been hardest hit and need support to survive this pandemic. We want restaurants to know that help is here,” said Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. “The SBA has focused on the marketplace realities of our food and beverage businesses in designing the Restaurant Revitalization Fund to meet businesses where they are. And we are committed to equity to ensure our smaller and underserved businesses, which have suffered the most, can access this critical relief, recover, and grow more resilient.”
“This program will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location,” the press release reads. “Funds must be used for allowable expenses by March 11, 2023.”
Priority will be given to businesses owned and controlled by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals for the first 21 days.
Visit restaurants.sba.gov for more information and to register.
For information on SBA’s assistance to small businesses, visit sba.gov/ppp or treasury.gov/cares. To contact the county of Riverside’s Business and Community Services department, call 951-955-0493 or send an email to [email protected] for local assistance.
Visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) website at https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs, to become familiar with the laws and regulations pertaining to personal protective equipment, including what is mandatory with regards to respirators, etc.
