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Santa and crew bring holiday cheer to EDH neighborhood.
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2020
VOLUME 169 • ISSUE 149
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COVID-19 vaccinations begin in county Thomas Frey Staff writer Marshall Medical Center and Barton Health each received their first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine and have begun vaccinating a priority group. Barton received about 500 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while Marshall Medical received about 400. The first priority for the vaccine goes to healthcare workers, skilled nursing facility staff/residents, first responders and correctional staff, as outlined by California’s tiered vaccination rollout plan. The vaccine will not be available to the general public until spring or summer 2021. Marshall Medical vaccinated 220 people on the first day the vaccine was available and more staff and providers lined up the following day to get their first shot. Recipients will need to get a second dose a few weeks after receiving the first to ensure the vaccine is effective. Overall, 90% of doctors who were offered the opportunity were vaccinated, according to Brittany Garcia with Marshall. “Marshall is happy to have received the first wave of vaccines to protect our frontline staff who are at the highest risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus,” said Marshall Medical CEO Siri Nelson. “The vaccine will allow us to carry out our primary goal, which is to care for our community.” Clint Purvance, president and CEO at Barton Health echoed similar sentiments. “The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine gives us a sense of hope and relief. It provides our healthcare workers with an important level of protection, in addition to personal protective equipment, surge operations, and other steps Barton takes to protect our team. We look forward to the continued rollout of the vaccination with state and county public health partners.”
Mountain Democrat photo by Thomas Frey
Marshall Medical Center RN Michelle Collingwood, left, gives Patti Carlton, a Marshall Community Care Network pharmacist, the COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 21 at the Placerville hospital. Vaccines are currently being given to hospital staff (acute care, psychiatric), those in long-term care facilities (staff and residents), paramedics/EMTs and those working in dialysis centers. The vaccine is expected to be available to the general public by this coming spring or summer. Each person getting the vaccine will need to get two shots for it to be effective.
Giving spirit thrives in El Dorado County
Mountain Democrat photos by Kevin Christensen
Mountain Democrat photos by Thomas Frey
Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians law enforcement officer De La Torre brings a gift bag to a car during Saturday’s Snowball event.
The Food Bank of El Dorado County partnered with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Tribal Fire Department during its annual Holiday Outreach Program to feed 1,000 families in El Dorado County.
Heroes hand out the goods The food bank delivers again Kevin Christensen Staff writer
Thomas Frey Staff writer
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Sierra held its 12th annual Snowball Heroes & Helpers shopping event Saturday — this year modified as a drive-thru occasion at the El Dorado County sheriff ’s headquarters in Placerville. The event, one of the longest running outreaches of its kind in El Dorado County, was hosted by county District Attorney Vern Pierson and his wife Cyndee. “It all went really smoothly considering the changes we had to make,” said Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Sierra Executive Director Brenda Frachiseur. “Pierson was pivotal ■
The Food Bank of El Dorado County fed more than 1,000 families during its annual Holiday Outreach program Dec. 17-19. Each family that came through received turkey, fruit, stuffing, cranberry sauce, milk, lentils, rice, canned meat, beans, apricots, split peas, chickpeas and spaghetti sauce — everything for a Christmas dinner
See SNOWBALL, page A7
Volunteer Jeanne Fiser helps organize gift bags Saturday.
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