COVID-19’s such a little devil. As of Feb. 1, this thing ain’t over yet, according to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, which once again extended the indoor mask mandate for yet another month.
Community transmission is still considered “high,” the department stated.
The county had 4,330 active cases with 108 in the hospital, 12 in the ICU, and one more death.
Have I ever complained about the COVID-19 dashboard? It gives me stress tics, because it’s so full of poorly displayed, convoluted information. All I wanted to know was how many of our hospitalized cases have been vaccinated versus unvaccinated. Could I find it? Nope.
It seems like a number that should be readily available, since the county is still pushing vaccinations as a good solution to help prevent the spread of the virus and prevent serious symptoms if you’re one of the sad saps who’s vaxxed and still gets the virus.
On SLO County’s COVID-19 dashboard, that number’s pretty easy to find. Since June 15, 2021, 78.5 percent of the folks hospitalized with COVID-19 weren’t fully vaccinated. In 74.8 percent of SLO County’s COVID-19 deaths, the resident wasn’t fully vaxxed.
And I went through all of that, just so I could tell you this:
You know how much it costs to take a little lie-down attached to a ventilator in the hospital? If you’re uninsured, the average charge (which is basically a starting price that can be negotiated down, thanks to America’s stellar health care system) for all of that save-your-life-from-COVID-19 care is $460,000. If you’re insured? Between you and your insurance company, it’s an average of $127,000, according to a recent study from FAIR Health.
Ouch.
And even if you die while you’re in the hospital, somebody still has to pay your medical bill. You know how much a vaccine costs you? It’s free!
Go get one, and save yourself money in the long run, if a $250 gift card from Allan Hancock College or saving the life of your grandpa with multiple co-morbidities like heart disease and diabetes isn’t enough of an incentive for you to get the jab(s).
You know who else wants to save money in the long run? Buellton, Solvang, Goleta, and Carpinteria, which are all protesting a rate increase from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, which provides contracted public safety services to the cities. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, the sheriff is proposing and 11.2 percent increase in the cost of its services, according to a Buellton city staff report. Last year, it proposed a 48 percent increase for Buellton! What???
What’s happening with the sheriff that it would cost so much more to patrol, arrest people, and do investigations?
I can tell you what the Sheriff’s Office isn’t doing with its money: Providing adequate mental health services at the Main Jail. Just ask the Assistant Public Defender’s Office, which is concerned about clients who are waiting to get access to the things they need, such as mental health evaluations.
“COVID has almost become an excuse rather than a real impediment,” Assistant Public Defender La Mer Kyle-Griffiths said.
The Canary only hears excuses. Send comments to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 3-10, 2022.