San Diego County public health officials reported 144 new COVID-19 infections Tuesday as all county-hosted COVID-19 vaccine sites began offering walk-up, no-appointment-required vaccinations.
The county will also continue to offer vaccination appointments that can be scheduled online.
Also Tuesday, the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccinations resumed in the county, after being temporarily paused earlier this month while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration studied adverse reactions in a small number of recipients.
The FDA concluded Friday that the benefits of the single-dose vaccine outweigh its risks and approved it for emergency use. Following the subsequent findings of the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, the California Department of Public Health over the weekend also approved the vaccine's usage.
According to the county's Health and Human Services Agency, women under the age of 50 should be aware of the rare but increased risk of blood clots after vaccination with the J&J vaccine and talk to their medical providers about other options if they have concerns about it.
The county has about 12,000 doses of the J&J vaccine available and will offer them at mobile vaccination sites and walk-up vaccine pods. The one-dose vaccine will also be used to innoculate homebound individuals and agricultural workers who are often more difficult to reach for a second dose.
COVID-19 vaccines are now available at no cost to anyone 16 and up who lives or works in San Diego County. A full list of county-run sites can be found here.
The HHSA reported Monday it has received nearly 2.85 million doses of the Pfizer, Moderna and J&J COVID-19 vaccines.
County residents receiving one dose of Pfizer or Moderna numbered 1,396,758, or 69.2% of county residents eligible to receive a vaccine. Those fully vaccinated -- with two doses of Pfizer or Moderna or one shot of J&J -- numbered 950,045, or 47.1% of San Diegans 16 and older.
The goal is to fully vaccinate 75% of San Diego County residents 16 and older, or 2,017,011 people.
The cumulative coronavirus case total rose Tuesday to 275,684, but no new deaths were reported and the death toll was unchanged at 3,692.
Of the 7,190 tests reported Tuesday, 2% returned positive. The 14-day rolling average of positive tests is 1.7%.
One new community outbreak was reported Tuesday in a TK-12th grade school setting. In the past seven days, 26 community outbreaks were confirmed.
San Diego County's state-calculated, adjusted case rate is currently 6.2 cases per 100,000 residents. The county remains in the Orange Tier or Tier 3 under the state's Blueprint for Recovery plan.
The California Department of Public Health indicates that unless there are circumstances such as low rate of vaccine uptake, a county will only move to a more restrictive tier if hospitalizations are increasing significantly among vulnerable individuals, especially among vaccinated individuals, and both testing positivity and adjusted case rates show a concerning increase in transmission.
