Addressing COVID Realities in Humboldt County

Brown Bag Lunch Online Presentation with Dr. Ian P. Hoffman, Humboldt County Dept. of Public Health

Monday, March 1, 2021 - 12:00pm

Get an update on the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Humboldt County. Delve into current testing and treatment service capacities, guidelines and restrictions, availability of vaccines and therapeutics, research on impacts on various age groups including seniors, and projections for upcoming months.

Dr. Ian P. Hoffman has been named Humboldt County’s new health officer. He replaces Dr. Teresa Frankovich, who stepped back from the position. Dr. Hoffman holds both a Doctorate of Medicine and Masters of Public Health from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers. He has worked previously for Kaiser Permanente in Portland, Ore. and San Francisco, as well as at Open Door Clinic in Arcata, Southwest Community Health Center in Santa Rosa and La Clinica de La Raza in Oakland. Dr. Hoffman worked with the Latino community in the Bay Area for more than a decade and said he looks forward to continuing that work in Humboldt County. “Yo trabajé por los últimos 12 años con la gente Latina,” dijo el Dr. Hoffman. “Espero seguir ayudando y trabajando con las personas que hablan español en mi trabajo como oficial de salud pública.”

Dr. Hoffman acknowledges the challenges inherent in taking on this role in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The COVID response in Humboldt County has been robust and cohesive,” he said. “We are well positioned going into the winter with increased contact investigations staff, expanded testing, an Alternative Care Site and planning underway for a vaccine rollout in the coming months.” He also noted that this has been a challenging time for the community. “I’m new to the fight against COVID in Humboldt County, but I know the community is not,” Dr. Hoffman said. “Many of you have been at this since February and are frankly exhausted by it. I want to listen to and understand those experiences and continue the level of community involvement and openness that has been set by everyone who has been part of the emergency response team.”