Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop have a higher percentage of its targeted population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 than the California and national averages.

As of Wednesday:

*42.83 percent or 25,971 of targeted Manteca residents were fully vaccinated while 15.03 percent or 9,112 were partially vaccinated.

*43.66 percent or 5,387 of targeted Ripon residents were fully vaccinated while 11.02 percent or 1,360 were partially vaccinated.

*47.16 percent or 7,973 of targeted Lathrop residents were fully vaccinated while 18.28 percent or 11,304were partially vaccinated.

So far 36.8 percent of California’s targeted population is fully vaccinated and 12.9 percent are partially vaccinated.  Nationally, 35.4 percent of adults have been fully vaccinated while 11 percent are partially vaccinated as opposed to 32.3 percent nationally.

Health officials want to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

Proof that it results in a substantial drop in COVID-19 cases and deaths can be found west of the Altamont Pass.

Two-thirds of all adults in San Francisco and almost 60 percent of the greater metro area of 4.7 million have been vaccinated with at least one dose — one of the highest rates in the nation. Its positive test rate is at 1.2 percent.

By comparison, 54 percent of Ripon adult residents have at least one dose, 65percent of Lathrop adults, and 57 percent of Manteca adults.

Health experts have estimated that 70 percent to 85 percent of a city’s population will need to be immune to reach herd immunity. However, that number is a moving target based on numerous factors.

Based on current conditions, San Francisco is in the verge of slipping into yellow or the least restrictive tier. Gov. Gavin Newsom has set June 15 as a date to “reopen” California.

 By going to sjready.org you can find vaccination sites where you can register for COVID-19 vaccines.

It includes all Costco stores in the county including Manteca, the Ripon and Lathrop SaveMarts, CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Safeway, and Walmart.

Modern Urgent Care in Manteca at 1630 W. Yosemite Ave., Suite A, offers shots seven days a week 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Heath care provider networks that typically deal with established patients include Golden Valley Health Centers, Kaiser Permanente, and Sutter Health.

Manteca has had 110 deaths to date while 7,063 people have contracted COVID-19. Ripon has had 22 deaths and 1,388 people that have tested positive. Lathrop has had 20 deaths and 2,377 coronavirus cases.

Countywide there have been 73,220 cases out of 783,000 residents since March 2020. There are 1,144 currently positive although that does not necessarily mean they have or will become ill.

There have been 1,391 deaths countywide — up seven from a week ago. One of those seven deaths was in Ripon.

Of the 1,391 deaths, all but 17 percent had at least one underlying condition that worked to compromise their ability to fight COVID-19. That included 39.6 percent that were diabetic, 31.2 percent that had cardiovascular disease, 14 percent that had chronic lung disease, 13.6 percent that were obese, and 6 percent with asthma.

Hospitals in San Joaquin County on Wednesday reported having 41 COVID positive patients admitted for care. Adult intensive care units (ICU) are operating at 89% of licensed bed capacity with 15% or 13 of those beds being used by COVID-19 patients. San Joaquin County hospitals reported two patient deaths due to COVID in the 24 hour period ending Wednesday at noon.

Over the past week, the number of COVID hospitalizations has decreased by 19.6%.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com