There are 382 newly reported confirmed cases in Kern County as of September 30, 2021. This brings the total of confirmed cases to 138, 615.

There are no new deaths being reported today and a total of 1,540 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic. The 14-day case rate is 30.77 per 100,000.

According to the Kern County Public Health Services Department, As of September 27, 787,180 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Kern County residents. 377,182 or 50 percent of Kern’s eligible population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Kern County has 263 COVID-19 related hospitalizations and 74 are in the ICU.

Now that flu season is upon us, the Kern County Public Health Services Department urges everyone 6 months and older to get a flu shot. Department officials also say 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.

“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.”

Due to the recent increase in demand for testing, the Public Health Services Department has worked with the State to deploy 3 additional new free COVID-19 testing sites; one in Bakersfield, one in Delano, and one in Tehachapi. Additionally, the department has added COVID-19 testing as a free service to one of their mobile COVID-19 vaccination units. Visit www.kernpublichealth.com to view an interactive map of local testing locations.

On September 24, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) posted a public health order requiring COVID-19 vaccination providers to request patients’ email addresses and mobile phone numbers for the state’s immunization registry.

This information allows My Vaccine Record to generate and send a secure link to individuals requesting their digital vaccination records to replace lost or unavailable records or provide a portable and reliable vaccine verification. Without this information, vaccine recipients are not able to quickly access their digital vaccine records.

Visit MYTURN.CA.GOV to schedule an appointment.