Fort Bragg, CA – On Friday night, February 19, Mendocino Coast Clinics (MCC) Executive Director Lucresha Renteria received a call offering 800 extra doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The MCC staff had just completed a vaccine event giving 211 Pfizer vaccines and despite the late hour and short notice, Renteria said yes. The planning process started and calls were made on Saturday to businesses in the approved tiers and community members eligible for the vaccine. This has been the story since the beginning of the pandemic: because MCC has the relationships and infrastructure to serve coastal residents quickly, MCC is called upon to get the job done.
“I am happy we can do it,” Renteria said. “That’s why we’re here, to serve our community. Of course, it would be nice if we could get a little more advance notice, but that’s the nature of the situation–everything is changing constantly.”
This week, MCC is holding four vaccine clinics; the only day MCC is not vaccinating at some level is Thursday. The clinics on Tuesday and on Friday are the large 400 vaccine events. The target for these events are for the following groups: people aged 65 years and older, emergency medical responders, school and childcare staff, food workers and agricultural workers. Specifically, this includes those directly involved in growing, harvesting, production, preparing, selling, cooking and serving food products as well as cannabis and lumber. Appointments are needed for the vaccine clinics; you can call (707)964-1251 to be put on a waiting list if no appointments are available at the time you call. “We know what we have for this week but we still don’t know about next week”, Renteria said.
Since people began receiving vaccines in Mendocino County, COVID-19 cases have begun to drop countywide, but medical professionals encourage everyone to remain vigilant. MCC Medical Director Dr. Lawrence Goldyn said, “We still need to keep wearing masks in public, maintain our physical distancing and wash our hands frequently.”
MCC also continues to provide free, drive-through surveillance testing every Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon by appointment. Those interested can call (707) 964-1251 to schedule a test. Recipients need not be MCC patients. Mendocino County Public Health is also providing surveillance testing every Tuesday on the coast via their mobile OptumServe testing team. For details and to register, visit lhi.care/covidtesting. For more information, call the Mendocino County COVID Call Center at (707) 472-2759 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
As a reminder, when people test positive for COVID-19, they are required to isolate at home for 10 days or until their symptoms are resolved, whichever is longer. Members of their household along with other close contacts must quarantine for 14 days. For the latest Mendocino County coronavirus updates, visit www.mendocinocounty.org/community/novel-coronavirus.
Our County is in the process of transitioning to a new database for COVID-19 vaccination requests, http://myturn.ca.gov. The County will use this database to register people for vaccination events. The database is open, and you can register your vaccine request now.
Even if you are already registered on vaccinatemendo.com, you should still register on http://myturn.ca.gov, since it will soon replace all other databases of vaccine requests for our County.
If you do not have an email address or a mobile phone to register on http://myturn.ca.gov, please call the state’s COVID hotline at 833-422-4255.
We will be closed on Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 15.
We will be open again on Tuesday, February 16. If you need us during the long weekend, or any time, just call (707) 964-1251 and the on call clinician will be happy to help you. We are always here for you, 24/7/365!
Estaremos cerrados el día de los presidentes, lunes 15 de febrero.
Estaremos abiertos nuevamente el martes 16 de febrero. Si nos necesita durante el fin de semana largo o en cualquier momento, simplemente llame al (707) 964-1251 y el médico de guardia estará encantado de ayudarlo. ¡Siempre estamos aquí para usted, 24/7/365!
At MCC, we are honored to serve our community in any way we can. We are especially glad to provide ongoing, no cost COVID-19 surveillance testing and vaccinations to coastal residents. It is inspiring to share a #shotofhope with our community.
Currently, we are vaccinating those aged 75 and up, those at high risk for serious complications or mortality, and food service and agricultural workers, in accordance with the tier system. There are several hundreds of people who meet these parameters, so we ask for your patience and understanding as we vaccinate the most vulnerable members of our community first.
We know that many of you are wondering when it’s going to be your turn. Last week, we vaccinated more than 250 seniors aged 75 and up, with a few food service workers from our standby list. We were scheduling people in their 90s and mid-80s last week as we worked through the existing list of 2,500 people 75 and up. This week, we are only doing second doses, no first doses.
As for next week, that’s anyone’s guess. We never know how many vaccines we will receive, or on what day. We often have only 24 hours’ notice to call hundreds of people to set up appointments. MCC’s supply of vaccines comes from Mendocino County Public Health, and their supply comes from the State. The entire state of California is experiencing a shortage of vaccines, and that impacts our county and our clinic.
On the bright side, MCC has vaccinated more than 1,000 coastal residents so far, with our patients representing about half of these. Overall, 12,000 of Mendocino County’s 90,000 residents have been vaccinated so far. We are looking forward to continuing to vaccinate our community as supplies of the vaccines and the designated tiers allow.
En MCC, nos sentimos honrados de servir a nuestra comunidad de cualquier manera que podamos. Estamos especialmente contentos de proporcionar vacunas y pruebas de vigilancia COVID-19 continuas y sin costo a los residentes de la costa. Es inspirador compartir un #shotofhope con nuestra comunidad.
Actualmente, estamos vacunando a las personas de 75 años en adelante, a las personas con alto riesgo de complicaciones graves o mortalidad, y a los trabajadores del servicio de alimentos y agrícolas, de acuerdo con el sistema de niveles. Hay varios cientos de personas que cumplen con estos parámetros, por lo que les pedimos paciencia y comprensión al vacunar primero a los miembros más vulnerables de nuestra comunidad.
Sabemos que muchos de ustedes se están preguntando cuándo será su turno. La semana pasada, vacunamos a más de 250 personas mayores de 75 años en adelante, con algunos trabajadores de servicios de alimentos entretejidos para cubrir nuestra lista de espera. Estábamos programando personas de entre 90 y 80 años la semana pasada mientras trabajábamos en la lista existente de 2,500 personas de 75 en adelante. Esta semana, solo estamos haciendo segundas dosis, no primeras dosis.
En cuanto a la próxima semana, nadie lo sabe. Nunca sabemos cuántas vacunas recibiremos ni en qué día. A menudo, solo tenemos un aviso de 24 horas para llamar a cientos de personas para programar citas. El suministro de vacunas de MCC proviene de la Salud Pública del Condado de Mendocino, y su suministro proviene del Estado. Todo el estado de California está experimentando una escasez de vacunas y eso afecta a nuestro condado y nuestra clínica.
En el lado positivo, MCC ha vacunado a más de 1,000 residentes costeros hasta ahora, y nuestros pacientes representan aproximadamente la mitad de ellos. En total, hasta ahora se han vacunado 12.000 de los 90.000 residentes del condado de Mendocino. Esperamos continuar vacunando a nuestra comunidad según lo permitan los suministros de las vacunas y los niveles designados.
The teen years can be wonderful, full of exciting changes and growth. But they can also be really confusing, especially when it comes to things like dating and relationships. Here at MCC, we believe in self-empowerment and healthy relationships. Everyone is deserving of a healthy, loving relationship.
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Do you have questions about dating, or wonder how healthy your relationship is? Click here for some real answers to real questions about dating:
https://www.loveisrespect.org/about-dating/dating-101/
Are you wondering if you are a good partner to your loved one? Take the quiz here and find out:
https://www.loveisrespect.org/quiz/am-i-a-good-partner/?%3E
Or click here to see if you are in a healthy relationship:
https://www.loveisrespect.org/…/is-your-relationship-heal…/…
Teens can find out more at loveisrepect.org, or text Blue Door @MCC at (707) 513-7575 with questions about relationships or to make an appointment to talk about what’s happening in your life. We are here for you!
It feels like we have been struggling with COVID forever. And if it feel that way for an adult, it’s even more difficult for a child. As parents, we sometimes don’t know what to say when our children are upset, or scared, or hurting. Here are some ideas to help you help your child through this challenging time:
If you need some extra help, MCC’s therapists are here for you and your child. We have therapists who are bilingual and specialize in caring for children. Just give us a call at 961-3492 to make an appointment. We are here for you!
