Young, Dumb & Vaccinated
We answer some of your hottest questions if you’re a young and h-word adult. The new police chief is sworn in & someone new enters to buy the Tower Theatre
☀️Good morning, Fresno! It’s Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021.
Hey y’all, it’s Ram.
You’ve all probably heard that the vaccine is starting to be distributed in Fresno County. We’re all pretty anxious to get it. I know because I tried to come through to the Fairgrounds and beg for one. You know, in case they had extras that would’ve gone bad anyway. It was worth a shot, figuratively and literally. But probably don’t do that. Don’t be like me.
Since the target audience of this newsletter is mostly 18-35, we’re here to selfishly center these questions on when YOU will get it. We get it, you’re young and h-word (healthy) to get out there.
So when can I, a young, h-word person, get the vaccine?
If you are a health care worker, you can sign up now through these sites below.
Fresno County Vaccine Sign-Up
Sierra Pacific Orthopedics
United Health Centers
I’m not a health care worker. Can I still get it?
Depending on where you fall on Fresno County’s vaccination schedule.
Okay… I am none of these. When will I get a vaccine?
Welllllll, it will probably be May or June depending on how fast they go through these phases.
Which essential workers are getting it? Are farm workers getting it? Grocery workers?
3,000 doses have been set aside for farm workers in Fresno County.
How is the distribution of the vaccine going? Is there a way to speed it up?
Right now, there are many bottlenecks. Everything should go as scheduled assuming there are enough vaccines in supply to distribute.
Will there be more vaccination sites?
Yes. Fresno County interim health officer Dr. Rais Vohra said that there are 100 providers in the process of becoming approved to become vaccination sites. One of the bottlenecks is that the sites must have the means to ensure the vaccines are kept at the correct freezing temperature to be usable.
When are things going to be safe? How many people need to get vaccinated?
Dr. Vohra is hoping to vaccinate 750,000 people by the end of the summer. That would be the safe zone, barring there are no hiccups in vaccination numbers.
Will the vaccine cost me money?
Nope. The vaccine is totally free, thanks to the federal government. There may be a fee or co-payment to cover the labor of giving you the shot.
Is this vaccine safe? Are there side effects?
The Pfizer vaccine is 50% effective after the first dose and 95% effective after the second dose. The Moderna vaccine is 80% effective after the first dose and 94% effective after the second dose. There are possible side effects such as stiffness and headaches but any serious side effects will be caught during your 15-minute monitoring period right after you get the vaccine.
Is the vaccine injecting me with COVID-19?
No. This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine. It means it’s just a piece of the genetic code of the COVID-19 virus, enough to teach your immune system how to fight against the virus.
But yeah, I heard on this website InfoWars(dot)com that it does.
Well, I would suggest you not go on those websites and instead read these links for further information on the vaccine.
How do they fit the microchip in it?
We actually asked that in our podcast episode with Dr. Rais Vohra himself. You can listen to it here.
Nah, this is fake news. I’ll rather listen to Alex Jones, I know the truth. You guys are part of the Illuminati, I will not submit to your mind control.
Aight, we’re done here.
I AM A PATRIOT YOU WILL NOT MICROCHIP ME! I WILL NOT BE MUZZLED AND TRACKED!
Fresno by Five
🦠 Coronavirus Updates
As of Jan. 16, there have been a total of 79,033 total confirmed cases and 932 deaths. 648 are currently hospitalized.
ICU Capacity for Fresno County is still at 0%. We remain in the Purple Tier meaning we have widespread risk to spread the virus. The stay-at-home order is still in effect. It will be lifted once they project the ICU capacity to be above 15%.
Valley Children’s Hospital is preparing to take in patients ages 25 and younger as the ICU beds remain in short supply throughout the valley.
👮🏽♂️ The New Police Chief is Sworn in
Paco Balderrama became Fresno’s 22nd police chief and the first Latino police chief. He was sworn in on Monday.
Balderamma was previously a deputy chief in Oklahoma City and has been in law enforcement for 20 years. Many are saying his background is an example and a “win” for young people of color.
“This is big for our brown and Black community because for the first time we will see someone who not just looks like us, that speaks like us and has a similar story.” -Councilmember Esmeralda Soria
For more about Balderrama, GVWire talked to him early in December last year and The Bee did a profile on him.
🚌 Clovis Unified Teachers vs Parents & Administrators
A clear divide between Clovis Unified School District is happening. Fresno Bee’s Education Lab clearly outlines it this week. Clovis teachers don’t feel safe coming back to the classroom while Clovis parents and the administration anxiously want kids to go back.
“It’s a tough place to be in to feel like your employer doesn’t value your input, but it’s even worse when they don’t value you as a person. Or your life.” -Anonymous Clovis Unifed Teacher to the Bee
“Seeing children in pajamas half the day is no longer cool. Our children are depressed, they’re sad and emotionally unwell, and they are not getting what they developmentally need to succeed in life. They can’t run on the playground, pass the ball to the team, or live the Clovis way of life” -Parent Sarah Cornelison
What the hell is the Clovis way of life?
11,000 students are already in classrooms in December but 2,300 elementary students and 9,000 secondary students who opted for in-person classes are not back in school as they planned because of the Orwellian *checks notes* Fresno County Department of Public Health stopping their plans.
101 students and 237 employees had contracted COVID-19. 139 of the employee cases happened in December. I wonder why. Maybe we’ll never know. Is this the Clovis way of life?
🤢 James Hoak Will Not Resign
After it came out James Hoak, Sierra Unified School District trustee, was found to be part of the Capitol Insurrection last week, many people did not like that their trustee participated in domestic terrorism. Enough people did not like that to create a petition to have him removed. The petition has 7,903 signatures as of Jan 16.
Sierra Unified shared their Zoom link for their Monday board meeting to hear public comment about Hoak’s actions. There were more than 400 people in the Zoom meeting, and at least half of them were there to advocate for Hoak.
You can check out the highlights of the responses in uSpark’s Thread below.
Hoak was asked if he would resign and replied: “I will be here until 2024 and I will see you at the polls.”
Three of Hoak’s pals continued to stay on brand, live streaming themselves outside Miguel Arias’ home to their thousands of Facebook followers. Just Proud Boy tingz.
📝 Ray Appleton Missed the Memo. Maybe.
Ray Appleton is still suspended from the airwaves after his “certain news editors should be hanged. Maybe” comments during the Capitol Insurrection.
But according to the Washington Post, a Cumulus Media executive sent a memo to talk show hosts like Appleton to ummm maybe don’t say that. More specifically they said to stop suggesting that the election was stolen from President Trump or else they would get fired.
And guess who owns KMJ? Cumulus. So certain radio hosts should have read the memo. Maybe.
🎭 Theatre Theatrics
After protests in front of Tower Theatre and many Zoom meetings about the Tower Theatre’s future owner, The Painted Table has put in a bid to buy the theater.
“We’ve decided that putting in an offer to purchase the Tower Theatre properties is the right thing to do for our Tower business community and for the greater Tower District community as a whole” -Jeromi Garza-Hansen, co-owner of The Painted Table
In other venue-related news, The Rainbow Ballroom is being sold for under $4 million. The owners are looking to retire and they hope the new owners will continue holding events. Here’s hoping anyone but a church buys it.
🍃 Legal Recreational Weed in Fresno When?
Legal recreational weed is soooooo close to Fresno. In October, the City of Fresno started to accept applications for people seeking to open recreational marijuana dispensaries. Companies are already location scouting Fresno.
One is the Artist Tree, a cannabis dispensary and art gallery combo. It’s planning to lease the old Full Circle Brewing Co. building at 1426 Van Ness Avenue.
Another is the brand Lemonnade, which is taking over the former Bank of America building in the Tower District. Lemonnade is described as a dispensary with an Apple store vibe.
There are two Cannabis licenses available per city council district, for a total of 14 licenses, but there are 65 applicants. Zero have been awarded so far.
And if you need some locals talking about weed and culture, check out The High Guys.
😌 Valadao Impeaches Trump and Gets Dunked as all Centrists Should
David Valadao was one of the 10 Republicans that voted to impeach Trump and both Democrats and Republicans won’t re-elect him. It really does not pay to be a centrist.
I think this meme succinctly describes the situation
🤨And Pence was in Lemoore?
He was here for 20 minutes. Homophobic Mike thanked the troops and said, “This is the first administration in decades not to get America into a new war.” Yeah, really needed more military budget for not starting wars. Very cool. No mention of the insurrection. Or the impeachment. Just vibes.
🥔 Some Good News: Taco Bell potatoes are back
They’re back. And since we’re on the topic of Taco Bell, the best item on their menu is actually the Breakfast Crunchwrap. I will die on this hill.
If you would like something added to the Community Board, email us at contact@fivebyfivenine.com or DM us on social media @fivebyfivenine
📌Community Board
Beautify Fresno Event
Help keep downtown Fresno beautiful with Beautify Fresno. All PPE, snacks and drinks will be provided.
Financial Assistance for LGBTQ+
The Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission is offering COVID-19 financial assistance to people identifying as LGBTQ+. You must be at least 18 years old and assistance is given on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sign up here: http://tiny.cc/queercare
Sexual Health and Wellness Week
Fresno Barrios Unidos is having a Sexual Health and Wellness event series starting Jan. 20 on their Instagram. Check out their Instagram post below for more information.
🎧This Week on the Pod
Simple and Clean and Checkin’ for the Vaccine feat. Dr. Rais Vohra
The pandemic pals are back from winter break and hitting the ground running. We sat down with Dr. Rais Vorha, interim health officer for the Fresno County Department of Health to discuss all things COVID-19. When can you expect to get a vaccine? How are we going to make sure vaccine sites are distributed equitably? What are healthcare workers dealing with as ICU beds dwindle? All that and more on the first episode of szn. 2.
Listen to the episode on these other podcasting platforms:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anchor | Google Podcasts
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🧡💙
This newsletter was written by Ram Reyes (@vibesradiator) and edited by Tommy Tribble (@tomiiwrites) | Follow Five By Five Nine on Instagram & Twitter
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