COVID-19

By Marc Medefind As soon as I was eligible, I got my COVID-19 vaccination. After an anxious year of waiting, I felt like a kid on Christmas Day when I got my shots last winter. Having always heard that a great aunt was a victim of the 1918 Flu Epidemic, I didn’t want to extend that part of my family’s legacy. So now that I’m vaccinated, a huge…

More than 500 deaths in Merced County are now linked to the COVID-19, including this region’s first pandemic-related infant death, according to the Public…

The Merced County Department of Public Health (Department) has confirmed the first pediatric death related to COVID-19 in Merced County – an infant with…

The highly contagious Delta Variant is spreading rapidly among the unvaccinated through communities with low vaccination rates such as Merced, and can make fully vaccinated people ill with breakthrough infections, health officials say. Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, announced on Aug. 8, it would soon be…

By STEVE M. TIETJEN, Ed.D. Most Merced County students return to the classroom this week after a year-and-a-half of in-person learning, distance…

Dr. Sima Asadi has been beyond busy since the first rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines in this region.  The Merced pediatrician is known for her…

Since June 15 — when pretty much everything that had been closed due to COVID-19 was open with no capacity limits and no social distancing — suspense has been building about what comes next. Will there be a new surge in COVID cases? “We have seen a slight uptick, but it is a slower uptick than last summer,” Dr. Kristynn Sullivan told the…

Merced County took the first step back into pre-COVID normalcy on Tuesday, June 15, as “Beyond the Blueprint” became California’s new reality. The county had…

Golden Valley Health Centers wants to remind you about the State of California’s “Vax for The Win” incentive program for those who have received their COVID-19…

A “Team Asadi” and “Team Merced” COVID-19 vaccination clinic was held on the afternoon of May 20 at the Merced Civic Center, and 12- to 15-year-olds were welcomed, but only about 55 in that age group showed up and got shots. In fact, the clinic, which was for everyone 12 and older, was not as well attended as previous ones. The FDA…