Santa Barbara County has required all persons two years old and older to wear masks in indoor public settings. The county should go further. It should follow San Francisco's lead and require proof of full vaccinations for patrons at high risk indoor establishments and that employers require employees to be vaccinated.
The justification for these mandates is simple. The FDA has given full approval to the Pfizer vaccine, and COVID, in the form of the Delta variant, is on the rise in our county. In other words, there is no rational reason for not getting vaccinated, and there is every moral and public-health reason for ensuring people are vaccinated.
Santa Barbara County Public Health officials report Delta makes up the majority of the 2,500 new cases reported in August. COVID patients now occupy 64.5 percent of all Santa Barbara County hospital beds and 76.6 percent of all intensive-care beds. Fully 89 percent of these patients were not vaccinated. As a result, Cottage Health is, as it should, requiring employees and visitors to be vaccinated, or show a negative test within 72 hours.