San Diego has reached a somber milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic as local virus-related deaths have now surpassed 5,000. (Image Credit: Shutterstock)

Of the 5,002 San Diegans who have died from complications of COVID-19 since the first local case of the virus was identified in the region in March 2020, 60 percent were male, and 40 percent were female.

“Every death is tragic, and our condolences go out to the family and friends of all of the San Diegans who have lost their lives during this pandemic,” said Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “Vaccination continues to be our best defense against COVID-19 and associated hospitalizations. I urge anyone who is not up to date with their shots to get vaccinated.”

Where COVID 19 Vaccines are available?

The region has plenty of COVID-19 vaccine supply. The county has more than 400 vaccination sites including pharmacies, medical providers, clinics, and County locations. You can also make an appointment or find a site near you by calling (833) 422-4255 or visiting the MyTurn or coronavirus-sd.com websites.

Vaccination Progress

• Doses administered: More than 6.83 million.
• Received at least one shot: Close to 2.92 million or 92.6% of San Diegans age 5 and older are at least partially vaccinated.
• Fully vaccinated: More than 2.56 million or 81.4%.
• Boosters administered: 1,151,574 or 54.3% of 2,121,748 eligible San Diegans.

Deaths

• 55 new deaths were reported since the last report on Feb. 16, 2022. The region’s total is 5,002.
• 32 men and 23 women died between Jan. 16, 2022, and Feb. 17, 2022.
• 22 were age 80 or older, 12 were in their 70s, 14 were in their 60s, two were in their 50s, two were in their 40s and three were in their 30s.
• 19 of the people who died were fully vaccinated and 36 were not fully vaccinated.
• 51 had underlying medical conditions, two did not and two had medical history pending.

Cases, Case Rates, Hospitalizations and Testing

• 659 COVID-19 cases were reported to the County on Feb. 22, 2022. The region’s total is now 734,656.
• 6,383 cases were reported in the past week (Feb. 16 through Feb. 22) compared to 9,073 infections identified the previous week (Feb. 9 through Feb. 15).
• During the 30-day period between Jan. 11, 2022, and Feb. 9, 2022, there were 1,495 COVID-19 hospitalizations; 831 people were not fully vaccinated, 461 were fully vaccinated and 203 were fully vaccinated and boosted.
• San Diego County’s case rate per 100,000 residents is 43.2 for people fully vaccinated and boosted, 52.6 for fully vaccinated people and 104.1 for not fully vaccinated San Diegans.
• 9,368 tests were reported to the County on Feb. 20, 2022, and the percentage of new positive cases was 6.6%.
• The 14-day rolling percentage of positive cases among tests reported through Feb. 20, 2022, is 6.8%.

Community Setting Outbreaks

• 58 new community outbreaks were confirmed in the past seven days (Feb. 16, 2022 through Feb. 22, 2022): 25 in TK-12^th grade school settings, 15 in daycare/preschool/childcare settings, four in business settings, four in college/university settings, two in government settings, two in healthcare settings, one in a distribution warehouse setting, one in an emergency services setting, one in a faith-based agency setting, one in a grocery setting, one in a residence and one in a restaurant/bar setting.
• The community outbreaks trigger is more than seven in a 7-day period.

(Information Source: County of San Diego Communications Office)