Kern County Public Health announced 1,911 new cases of COVID-19 in Kern over the last four days, bringing the total number of cases to 128,770.

Health officials also confirmed three more COVID-19 deaths, brining the total number of COVID-19-related deaths to 1,485 since the start of the pandemic.

As of Monday, 743,126 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Kern County residents.  According to health officials, 348,068 or 46.2 percent of Kern’s eligible population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

As of Tuesday, Kern County has 329 COVID-19 related hospitalizations and 71 are in the intensive care unit.

“We continue to see first dose administration rates increase in Kern County,” Kern Public Health said in a news release. “In the most recent three weeks, there has been a 16.4 percent increase in first doses of the COVID-19 vaccines administered.”

With flu season upon us, Kern County Public Health urges everyone 6 months and older to get a flu shot.

“During this pandemic, it is especially important for our residents to get their annual flu vaccine,” said Brynn Carrigan, Director of Kern County Public Health. “This will help decrease flu activity in our community and help ease the burden on our healthcare system.”

Getting a flu shot is an easy and safe action we can take to keep ourselves and our loved ones healthy during the pandemic.  Flu vaccines and COVID-19 vaccines can be given at the same time.

In addition to getting your flu shot, practice healthy habits like maintaining a healthy diet, hand washing, staying at least 6 feet away from others, wearing a face covering when in public, and staying at home when sick. These steps will protect you from both the flu and COVID-19.