Residents receive second vaccine dose

About 1,200 people received their second dose of the Moderna vaccine at a county-sponsored clinic on Wednesday, and Yuba-sutter health officials are hoping to administer first doses to another 700 people during a clinic on Saturday.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were 171 appointments still available for registration at Saturday’s countysponsored clinic planned for the YubaSutter Fairgrounds.

“In terms of timing, our region was fortunate in that we saw little effect from the pausing of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, as Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were in good supply among the various county and partner clinics,” said Yuba County Media and Community Relations Coordinator Russ Brown.

“On Wednesday, the Myturn California vaccine registration system debuted on the websites of both counties for this weekend’s clinic at the Yuba-sutter Fairgrounds. We encourage residents to visit www.yuba.org/vaccines or www. suttercounty.org/vaccine to learn more.”

Brown said the area has seen hopeful signs in the lower number of COVID-19 patients taking up hospital beds and in the Intensive Care Unit, though painful reminders of the ongoing dangers presented by the virus persist.

“We saw a couple of weeks in which there were no reported deaths, and then this week we lost two elderly residents to COVID-19,” Brown said. “It underscores the importance of remaining diligent in taking precautions.”

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Yuba-sutter area increased by 18 on Thursday. There are currently 88 active cases in the area.

Twelve individuals were hospitalized as of Thursday evening, while 24 virus cases closed. To date, 144 local deaths have been attributed to COVID-19.