COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has been with us for three years. Lately some of the prevention protocols have been relaxed by the state and there are more remedies to keep people from getting seriously ill, the county's health officer says. Dr. Salvador Sandoval notes in general Merced County residents are less likely to be hospitalized and die from…

The holiday season is upon us. As we prepare to celebrate and visit with friends and family—many of whom we have not seen in a long time, we need to do so…

The You & Me COVID-Free program, which provides communities with access to free, rapid COVID-19 test kits to use at home as needed, has…

The surge in COVID cases which started in mid-July has developed a peculiar plateau-like pattern at a high number of cases, as opposed to a significant decrease as was typically the case with previous surges, according to the Merced County Public Health Department. The other COVID characteristic that stands out currently is the number of…

As the number of cases of COVID-19 surge again globally as a result of the delta variant, world leaders are searching for ways to make more informed…

A surge in COVID cases since mid-July has been a continuing concern to the Merced County Public Health Department, especially because the number of children…

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…