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COMMUNITY NEWS Scotts Valley High Drama Presents ‘Almost, Maine’

Available Online Through March 7

Welcome to Almost, Maine, a place that’s so far north, it’s almost not in the United States. It’s almost in Canada. And it’s not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized.

So it almost doesn’t exist.

One cold, clear, winter night, as the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost, Maine, find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways.

Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend — almost — in this delightful midwinter night’s dream.

The play, written by John Cariani, is presented online by Scotts Valley High Drama, directed by Kendra Kannegaard and Jack “Arizona” McHatton. They report the show was rehearsed and filmed following strict COVID safety guidelines and is “a true labor of love.”

Tickets are sold by household, $12 for a student and $15 general, so viewers are asked to buy one link per device. To purchase, see www.showtix4u.com/event-details/46024 •••

Donations to Scotts Valley High Drama are welcomed.

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EMPOWERING STUDENTS TO SHAPE THEIR FUTURES WITH CONFIDENCE.

Kirby School is an independent college preparatory day school in Santa Cruz for grades 6-12.

Find a place to belong in our intellectually curious community. Join us at an upcoming virtual Admissions event to learn more about our exceptional college prep program and individualized instruction.

“COVID Update” from page 4

For some, that has proven challenging, with a pinned tweet by a major local provider, Sutter Health, saying it doesn’t have enough vaccine supplies and advising people to check online for updates.

At the health leaders press conference Feb. 25, county spokesman Jason Hoppin acknowledged the frustration some have felt.

Hard To Get

Checking santacruzhealth.org for vaccine availability one day, CVS in Capitola was fully booked and Walgreens hasn’t yet brought vaccine to California. One new pharmacy with vaccine, posted last week, is RiteAid, 1988 Freedom Boulevard in Watsonville.

Kaiser, a big provider locally, was shorted on vaccine by the state, according to Dr. Gail Newel, the county health officer, but has now received more vaccine and is willing to vaccinate people outside its health plan.

The first open appointment online at the county’s vaccine clinic, 250 Main St. in Watsonville, was Easter Sunday, April 4, but the online sign-up system required the second appointment to be scheduled at the same time and no appointments were available in May.

Nonprofit Santa Cruz Community Health in Live Oak is willing to accommodate people 65 and up who have had difficulty scheduling an appointment, with staff taking phone numbers, making callbacks and offering to let people know when vaccine is available.

By Friday, the Sutter Health patient portal was providing vaccine appointment dates for Saturday.

Dr. Newel predicted the county will move into the Red Tier, which allows indoor dining and movies to open at 25 percent capacity and gyms to open at 10 percent capacity, in two or three weeks. The state evaluates the numbers on Tuesdays.

For the change, the county needs lower numbers for two weeks. The county’s adjusted case rate is 8.6 per 100,000; Red Tier is 7 or below.

Nearby San Mateo and Marin counties were fast-tracked into the Red Tier because of their low equity positivity rates, 3.7 percent and 3.4 percent. Santa Cruz County is 6.3 percent.

Third Vaccine

Dr. David Ghilarducci, Santa Cruz County deputy health officer, is excited about the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine, which was found to reduce moderate to severe COVID infection by 66 percent and doesn’t need to be frozen.

“It’s 100 percent effective at keeping you out of the hospital,” he said. “That’s a game-changer.”

The federal Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization on Feb. 27, and it could arrive locally this week.

Ghilarducci expects that having a third vaccine in addition to Pfizer’s and Moderna’s will speed up the likelihood of “herd immunity” in the county, sooner than midAugust, his earlier prediction.

So far, he said, Sutter Health leads in vaccine distribution, with close to 25,000 doses, followed by Dominican, 10,000, and county clinics, 9,000.

“We can expect to get 50 percent more vaccine in coming weeks,” Newel said, once the Johnson & Johnson vaccine starts delivery.

In four weeks, with Blue Shield taking over the vaccine distribution from the state, she expects there to be “more supply than we can administer. That will be a happy day.”

Newel addressed what she called “myths” about the vaccine,

It does not contain fetal tissue, she said, noting stem cells were used in research but not in the vaccine.

It does not cause infertility or miscarriage, she said, and it doesn’t alter DNA.

The side effects are mild, she said, soreness, a bit of fever, chills…very shortlived , a few hours.

To a question about outreach to undocumented workers, Jen Herrera, the county’s chief of public health, said public health is working with the county ag commissioner, employers, and Pajaro Valley organizations.

The state’s switch to Blue Shield agebased vaccine system March 1 won’t have an immediate impact on Santa Cruz County, which is in the third wave, and is scheduled to switch over toward the end of the month.

To schedule a vaccine appointment, visit santacruzhealth.org or sign up at the state website, https://myturn.ca.gov.

To see what business activity is allowed see: tinyurl.com/cdph-dimmer-framework-sept (full URL: www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/ DCDC/CDPH%20Document%20Library/COVID-19/ Dimmer-Framework-September_2020.pdf) n •••

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County COVID Deaths: 183

As of March 1

Age

90 and up: 54 • 80 to 89: 56 • 70 to 79: 36 60 to 69: 26 • 50 to 59: 4 • 40 to 49: 3 30 to 39: 3

Underlying Conditions

Yes: 141 • No: 42

Gender Male: 83 • Female: 100

Skilled Nursing/Residential Care Santa Cruz Post Acute: 20 Watsonville Post Acute: 18 Pacific Coast Manor: 14 Hearts & Hands Post Acute: 8 Sunshine Villa: 7 • Aegis: 4 Maple House 1: 4 Valley Convalescent: 4 Montecito Manor: 3 Watsonville Nursing Center: 3 De Un Amor: 2 • Dominican Oaks: 2 Driftwood: 2 • Hanover House: 2 Maple House II: 2 • Paradise Villa: 1 Rachelle’s Home 1: 1 Rachelle’s Home II: 1 Valley Haven: 1 • Westwind: 1 Total: 100 Not at a facility: 83

COVID Cases by Town

Aptos: 701 • Ben Lomond: 103

Boulder Creek: 133 • Capitola: 406 Felton: 135 • Freedom: 916

Santa Cruz: 3,436 • Scotts Valley: 372

Soquel: 316 • Watsonville: 7,699 Unincorporated: 220 Under investigation: 234 Total: 14,671

Source: Santa Cruz County Public Health •••

To view the Town Hall on schools reopening, see: tinyurl.com/ SCCed-town-hall-reopen (Full URL: https://santacruzcoe-org. zoom.us/rec/play/yO7rBFlcybygn0c1VM MOuMTcWei9p45cy-AigjmBcdIxh3Bw7CoDc z3H590dZsSQSp WyGYJj028HbZ77.ZfuTRrRE8 cmwa6BR?startTime=1614301224000) •••

Editor’s Note: Would you like to share your family’s COVID-19 story? Email Jondi Gumz at info@cyber-times.com or call 831688-7549 x17.