San Mateo County health officials encourage vigilance amid high cases of winter illnesses

After a summer plateau, COVID-19 cases are back on the rise and cases of influenza are also seeing high transmission rates last recorded before the pandemic struck nearly three years ago, Chan said. Meanwhile, cases of other respiratory viruses have plateaued but remain high, he added.

More than 3,300 residents have contracted COVID-19 in the last 30 days with 281 people testing positive on Monday, Nov. 28, one of the highest counts of cases per day since late July and early August, according to County Health’s COVID-19 data dashboard.

Hospitalizations have also increased in recent days with 45 patients seeking care due to COVID-19 as of last week, according to County Health’s hospital data dashboard. Chan noted emergency rooms across the county are also becoming increasingly busy these days due to respiratory illnesses.

Those figures are not included in the county’s hospital data but Chan said health officials expect to see rates seen leaning toward what was seen last winter when more than 1,000 cases were being reported a day and about 100 residents died.

“I just want to make that clear again, COVID rates are increasing. We can see that clearly in the percent positivity in our PCR test. We can see that clearly from our wastewater surveillance data that shows an increase throughout the Peninsula. All of us know how quickly COVID spreads and that’s probably going to increase in the coming weeks,” Chan said.

Chan was reluctant to estimate how many deaths the county could expect to see this year but said hospitalization rates in the hundreds are likely.

Winter of 2020 was the deadliest in the county, with up to 200 patients seeking medical care on any given day and hundreds of residents dying from COVID-19. Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 176,261 residents have contracted the virus and 853 residents have died from COVID-19-related illnesses.

Chief of Health Louise Rogers said it’s still unclear whether current data reflects COVID-19 cases spread during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanks to stronger community immunity and the availability of treatments, Rogers said the county should fare better than in the past. Unlike the first COVID-19 winter, vaccines are broadly accessible and about 93% of residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose with 86% having completed their vaccine series.

Unlike last winter when omicron, a new and more contagious variant, hit the region and caused a surge in cases despite similar access to COVID-19 vaccines, an updated booster specialty designed to combat the mutation and its subvariants is now available.

As of last Thursday, about 25% of county residents have received the updated booster, dubbed the bivalent booster, Dr. Anand Chabra, medical director for family health services, said. He also suggested residents access the updated flu shot, calling it a good match for the strains of the virus currently spreading.

Bivalent booster doses can be accessed within a couple of days to a week either through large health care providers, pharmacies or standing county-backed community clinics, Chabra noted. The county is also hosting six additional pop-up vaccine clinics this month in Redwood City, Menlo Park and East Palo Alto.

Officials continued to encourage organizations to request county support with setting up clinics that target the county’s most vulnerable and hard-to-reach people, specifically those in the Black, Latino and Pacific Islander communities. Rogers noted gaps in vaccination rates between those groups and the county’s overall rate have greatly diminished but still exist.

“Racial and ethnic disparities have decreased over the course of the pandemic but they persist. This reinforces the importance of our continuing to work with an equity lens in our pubic health roles,” Rogers said.

Going into the rest of the winter season, Chan stressed the importance of practicing what he described as a layer of precautions. Beyond the first layer of getting vaccinated, he said the second layer is to follow the basics taught to children — regular hand washing, cleaning surfaces, avoiding touching faces and covering one’s mouth when coughing.

For the third layer, he said groups should avoid overcrowding or limit the number of people in a room, and practice proper ventilation by opening windows and doors to allow for better airflow.

The final layer, he said, was to stay home when possible if experiencing symptoms and to get tested, noting COVID-19 is still the deadliest of airborne viruses currently spreading. When returning back into the community, Chan recommended residents wear a high-quality face mask, especially if at risk of experiencing severe symptoms.

“The risk of COVID is still with us through this winter and will continue for probably another couple of years,” Chan said. “As people are get vaccinated we feel that, in general, it’s important for people to resume their lives and connect with people, particularly in the holiday and support each other but … it’s important for people to understand there’s still risks with COVID.”

As the department continues to address ongoing community health concerns, officials will also be looking toward change as Health Officer Scott Morrow prepares to retire. Morrow intends to retire sooner than planned, Rogers said, with a retirement date of January 2023.

During Tuesday’s meeting, supervisors adopted a resolution allowing Morrow to maintain his role as extra help to the county while the search for his replacement is conducted. Rogers said there may be internal candidates fit for the role but more time is needed to conduct aggressive outreach for potential candidates to apply before the board considers them.

“We’re not bringing this forward causally but out of consideration for the challenges of the role and the time it may take to identify candidates for your consideration,” Rogers said. “The COVID-19 pandemic of the last three years has illuminated more than any other challenge we’ve faced, the critical nature of the health office role and the necessity for personal qualities of stamina and resilience in addition to professional public health knowledge and substantial public health experience.”

Visit smchealth.org/coronavirus for more information on COVID-19 data and resources.