San Joaquin County Public Health urges residents to get booster shots

Nov. 24—STOCKTON — San Joaquin County Public Health Services on Tuesday announced that COVID-19 boosters are now available to all adults, as long as they are eligible based a person's timing of their previous dose of the vaccine.

Dr. Maggie Park, the county's public health officer, said everyone who has been vaccinated should get the booster shot, especially those older than 50 and those living in a long-term care facility.

"We are taking a household approach here in San Joaquin County to protect everyone from severe illness from COVID-19," Park said.

"As COVID-19 has evolved, so has our understanding of how best to protect everyone and that now includes the added immunity from boosters. Boosters being available to everyone 18 years or older is a great tool to protect your families, friends, and our community."

Nearly 60,000 booster shots have been given so far, according to county public health.

Residents who were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer of Moderna vaccines should get their boosters at least six months after the second dose, and those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should get a booster at least two months after their second dose.

You can get a booster with any brand, regardless of which vaccination you initially received, county public health said.

According to county public health's Monday data report, 58.6% of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated, while 8.8% are partially vaccinated.

Monday's report said that 65% of Lodi's population is fully vaccinated and 9.5% partially vaccinated.

To book a booster shot or find a walk-in clinic, visit www.myturn.ca.gov, call 833-422-4255, or visit a local pharmacy.

While state health officials are expecting a winter COVID-19 surge, new cases, deaths and hospitalizations in San Joaquin County appear to be plateauing.

According to the California Department of Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard, the new case rate in San Joaquin County as of Tuesday was 12.2 per 100,000 residents, a decrease of .3 cases from last week.

The state reported just one death from the virus occurred in the county during the last week, and 77 people were being treated at the county's seven hospitals as of Tuesday, down from 96 reported last week.

This week's hospitalizations in San Joaquin County are down by 5% from this time last year, the state reported.

San Joaquin County is one of 21 in the state that has seen no change to 50% decline in hospitalizations in 12 months. Only six counties have seen declines of more than 50% in that time, according to the state, while 31 counties have seen increases in hospitalizations.

The county's test positivity rate also declined this week, down to 3.9% from the 4.2% reported last week. Despite these small, consistent declines, the county would still be in the most restrictive "purple tier" of the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy if it was still in effect.

There have been a total of 101,299 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the county, according to the CDPH, and 1,833 deaths.

According to county public health, there have been 8,908 cases on Lodi and 204 deaths. There have been 735 cases and 14 deaths in Acampo, 515 cases and nine deaths in Woodbridge, and 74 cases and one death in Clements.

In Lodi's 95240 ZIP Code, which includes parts of Lockeford, there have been 7,017 cases and 183 deaths. In the 95242 ZIP Code, there have been 3,028 cases and 49 deaths.

In Lockeford's 95237 ZIP Code, there have been 403 cases and six deaths.

According to Sacramento County Public Health, there have been 4,228 cases in Galt and 57 deaths. In addition, 14,327 Galt residents have been fully vaccinated, for 55% of its population.