San Mateo County officials prepare for new variants

After two years under the pandemic, San Mateo County health officials shared confidence the Peninsula is equipped to respond to increased risks from potential new COVID-19 strains.

“The main thing that’s different is our preparedness and the level of practice we’ve had pivoting,” Chief of Health Louise Rogers said during a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. “Overall, the main thing is the amount of learning we’ve done I think has prepared us better to scale up and scale down as needed.”

Since the start of the pandemic, more than 117,600 residents have contracted the virus with the most recent winter surge of omicron proving to be the most infectious after tens of thousands of residents tested positive. But deaths and hospitalizations did not see similar spikes, falling short of the most deadly surge experienced a year ago. And the county’s infection rate has declined by 86% since an early January peak.

San Mateo County is seeing a case rate of 34 cases per 100,000 people, according to state data from Friday. This rate is a steady drop from the case rate a week ago, which was 49 per 100,000 people. Plus, the positivity rate has dropped to 5% countywide. For the county’s most vulnerable communities, those in its “health equity quartile,” the positivity rate is 7%. This means there’s less of a disparity in COVID rates for some of the communities most severely impacted by the pandemic, according to Bay City News Service.

Officials have looked at those trends as indicators the virus and new strains are likely becoming weaker, prompting preparations for an endemic response. Pointing to California’s SMARTER plan which focuses on a number of preventative measures, Rogers said that plan indicates the virus will remain a reality for some time, “if not, forever,” but the focus is now on readiness.

As new variants arise, she said the county will look to the state for guidance given that it plays a key role in tracking those trends. At this point, she said it’s unclear if ba.2, the newest version of the omicron variant, has been spotted in the county.

Encouraging vigilance

Meanwhile, Dr. Anand Chabra, director of Family Health Services, continued the county’s messaging around the importance of vaccinations by encouraging the public to get boosted and noting the county’s interest in increasing vaccination rates among children and underserved communities.

Citing recent data, Chabra said nearly 408,000 residents have been boosted so far. As for vaccination rates, 89% of all eligible residents have been vaccinated with about 64% of children ages 5 to 11, 67.5% of Black residents, 78.7% of Hispanic residents and 65.8% of Pacific Islanders having received at least one dose.

Chabra said the county is continuing its support of locally accessible clinics with the aims of getting those rates to at least 80% and plan on expanding access to pediatric doses at targeted sites by next week.

“We continue to learn from what has worked and not worked in establishing accessible locations, easy-to-navigate processes and trustful outreach and information about the importance of vaccination as a vital protection,” Chabra said.

Rogers also lauded the community for taking steps to protect themselves including testing regularly, wearing face coverings and getting vaccinated while noting efforts will have to continue to ensure all residents are safe.

“We thank every resident who has played a role in this progress,” Rogers said. “We also acknowledge that we have more work to do to ensure that every resident and community remains protected as the virus continues to circulate.”

Contracts and agreements

Keeping in step with the state, the board also approved an amendment to the county’s COVID-19 Emergency Sick Leave Policy, extending the policy through September. The update also restores the balance of COVID-19 sick leave for full-time employees to a minimum of 40 hours, prorates the balance for part-time employees and grants the full 40 hours to new employees. The resolution also makes changes to allow employees to use the hours if they test positive or have to care for a relative who tests positive for the virus.

In other business, the board approved a three-year labor agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employee Local Chapter 829, providing employees with two 3% raises over the next two years and a 4% salary increase in the third year.

The agreement also grants employees a stipend of $2,000, a compromise between the $2,500 requested by the union and the $1,500 offered by the county. The agreement also largely modifies the county’s retirement health plan by cutting connections to an employee’s sick leave and instead offers to contribute $50 to the fund that’s matched by an employee contribution of $50.

“We do appreciate you. We do think you do great work and we think that you are the reason that this county is so successful,” Supervisor Carole Groom said. “It’s you who are on the front lines and [we] can’t thank you enough for the hard work that you do.”

Aside from the health plan changes, similar raises were accepted for unrepresented management, attorneys and confidential employees and for the six elected department heads including the sheriff, district attorney, coroner, treasurer, controller and the chief elections officer-assessor-county clerk-recorder.

County Manager Mike Callagy informed the board that he would not be accepting a raise until all union negotiations have been finalized, a move board President Don Horsley said was “unnecessary” but “gracious.”

The board also approved an agreement that will allow the county to enter into a 10-year sublease agreement with Telecare Corporation, a behavioral health services provider, for the operation of the Industrial Hotel in South San Francisco. Under the agreement, the county negotiated a nearly $35,000 monthly payment for the 45-room hotel with the property owner, Kismet Partners, LLC, with an annual increase of 3.5%.

Telecare previously rented directly from Kismet Partners but will now negotiate a sublease with the county to provide services to mental health clients at risk of homelessness.

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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