COVID analysis by Santa Barbara County may change vaccination requirements for employees

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - In a rapidly requested study, Santa Barbara County is expecting a report on how many employees have been vaccinated for COVID-19. The data was called for a week ago.

The Board of Supervisors will be receiving a report at its current meeting.

Some employees have already said they have issues with a mandatory vaccination requirement. At least one said he would leave his job if the county required him to get a COVID-19 shot.

A few months ago the county said about 40 percent of the employees were still without a vaccination.

Supervisors were hoping the workers would be an example to the public by getting their shots, but across the board that is not happening, so far, at a level they expected.

County Health Director Van Do-Reynoso says there are currently 63 active outbreaks in the county. 12 are in businesses, 21 in schools, and 30 in congregate living. An outbreak is three or more cases, for example, in the work place, in a 14-day period.  

Santa Barbara County hospitals say their capacity this week is about the same as last week with 65.8 percent of the beds in use. The Intensive Care Unit beds are at 69.7 percent capacity.

Overall about one in three eligible citizens in Santa Barbara County are not vaccinated, or about 134, 714.

   During the current meeting the County Human Resources Director Maria Elena De Guevara said she has been calculating the number of employees who are fully vaccinated. "Those presented to us  that are  now total vaccinated, 59 percent are vaccine verified, 10.6 percent attested  and 30.4 are unknown."

Overall in the general public, Santa Barbara County has reported 64.9 percent of the eligible population have received their vaccination but 134,714 or about one in three have yet to get the vaccine.

Late in the afternoon meeting the county voted 4-1 for the vaccination and testing program to start by the end of September.