Borrego Sun - Since 1949

The Borrego Springs Covid-19 Task Force has decided to reactivate. We had hoped that there would be few new COVID cases in Borrego Springs this summer. Unfortunately, 21 new cases have been reported since early May. More than half of the new cases have occurred in the last three weeks, most likely due to the Delta variant. This means Borrego Springs has a continued risk of spread of the virus.

The Delta variant is much more contagious than the original SARS CoV-2 virus. It is as contagious as chicken pox, which is the second most contagious virus for which we vaccinate our population. Fortunately, the Pfizer, Moderna and J&J vaccines remain very effective in protecting us against severe illness, hospitalization and death. The Delta variant results in hospitalization and death to the unvaccinated much more frequently than to vaccinated people. According to a recent study by CDC of 600,000 cases, unvaccinated people are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die than vaccinated people.

According to postings from the County, 65% of residents age 12+ of zip code 92004 have had at least one shot of vaccine. That compares to 78% for all residents age 12+ in San Diego County. Last May our residents’ vaccination rate was higher than the County’s overall rate when CALFIRE concluded it series of mass vaccination events in Borrego Springs. Our risk of spread may increase significantly with the return of seasonal residents and tourists. Borrego Springs would be a safer place to live and visit if another 20% to 25% of our residents got vaccinated.

The Borrego Springs Covid-19 Task Force will operate under auspices of the Public Health Subcommittee of the Revitalization Initiative promoted and supported by Supervisor Desmond. The Task Force relies heavily upon our relationships with County staff to obtain testing and vaccination services, such as through CALFIRE. We will also coordinate with Borrego Health as the Borrego Medical Clinic is the primary source of Moderna and J&J vaccine and provides testing services.

This season the Task Force will:

- Provide information about the Delta and future variants of concern, vaccination, testing, etc.

- Respond to questions from the community via ongoing postings of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

- Make recommendations to residents and business owners/managers about keeping Borrego Springs as safe as feasible

- Promote Covid vaccination (primary and booster shots if approved for the general population) and Covid testing by CALFIRE, by the Borrego Medical Clinic and in our schools (all grades will likely be eligible before the calendar year ends)

- Promote flu shots, and

- Support CALFIRE in providing vaccination and testing events

If Borregans work together, we should be able to mitigate Covid sufficiently to not only avoid significant harm to residents, visitors and our economy, but also to regain a greater sense of normalcy. For many reasons we need Borrego Springs to be a safe place to live and to visit.