Santa Clara County Reports 1,490 New Coronavirus Cases, 17 Deaths

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Public Health Department reported 1,490 additional coronavirus cases Friday.

The latest report brings the countywide case count to 53,885.

The county reported 17 additional coronavirus-related fatalities Friday, bringing its COVID-19 death toll to 583.

There were 576 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Santa Clara County as of Friday, of which 128 were being treated in intensive care units.

Elsewhere in the Bay Area and beyond, Sonoma County received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccine this week as Bay Area counties continue to roll out the vaccine to front-line health care workers.

Sonoma County's first vaccine allocation from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer totaled 4,875 doses, with most being delivered directly to six of the county's hospitals on Thursday.

Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Petaluma Valley Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, Healdsburg District Hospital and Sonoma Valley Hospital each received one box of vaccine.

The county's Public Health Department also received two boxes of vaccine, containing a combined 1,950 doses, which will be administered to front-line workers in its Crisis Stabilization Unit, Behavioral Health Division and its first responders.

"The arrival of the vaccine is a hopeful sign and it gives us another critical tool as we fight this pandemic," Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said.

"Our health-care partners can now begin vaccinating frontline workers and those most vulnerable for getting COVID."

In Alameda County, health care workers at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland began receiving the vaccine on Thursday.

A total of 15 nurses, respiratory therapists, custodial workers, phlebotomists and physicians received vaccines Thursday at the hospital, with another 45 scheduled to be vaccinated Friday.

The Alameda County Health Care Service Agency also began vaccinating front-line health care workers Friday at Hayward's St. Rose Hospital.

In accordance with the state's vaccination rollout strategy, the first vaccine doses will go to health care workers and nursing home residents who are at highest risk of contracting the virus, according to the county.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our hospital and 9-1-1 frontline staff in the first phase of what we believe will diminish the impact of this global pandemic" Health Care Services Agency Director Colleen Chawla said.

Alameda and Sonoma counties join Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Marin and Monterey counties in beginning to administer the vaccine with more shipments expected from Pfizer in the coming weeks.

In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant an emergency use authorization this weekend to the Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Moderna for its vaccine.

The first doses of that vaccine are expected to arrive in California in the next two weeks, according to state officials.Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the state expects to receive a total of some 2.1 million vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna by the end of the month.

"This early phase of COVID-19 vaccine distribution is the first step toward a future when we can be together again," Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Richard Valle said.

Don't miss updates about the coronavirus in California as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters

There have been 1,782,933 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 22,260 coronavirus-related deaths in California as of Friday afternoon according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The United States had 17,416,108 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 313,035 coronavirus-related fatalities as of Friday afternoon.

There have been 75,508,468 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,671,772 deaths reported globally as of Friday afternoon.

— Bay City News contributed to this report