COVID-19 numbers in California are rising thanks to new subvariants, suggesting an earlier than normal start to the summer season.
The percentage of COVID tests that returned with effects in the state rose to 5. 3% during the week ending June 3, up from 2. 2% last month.
The numbers are still relatively low — last summer’s peak positive test rate was 13. 1 percent — but the increases are attracting the attention of doctors and fitness officials as the summer season begins.
“The numbers are going up,” said Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, Kaiser Permanente’s regional infectious disease leader in Southern California. Among Kaiser’s 4. 8 million members in Southern California, COVID-19 accumulation occurs most often among others who are not hospitalized.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported an average of 106 COVID cases during the week ending June 2. This represents an increase from the 67 cases consistent with the day of the week ending May 12.
“We have noticed that this has happened in the last four and a half years. We know we have a tendency to see some other wave around this time,” Hudson said. This one “started a little earlier, so it can peak a little bit. “before, and we don’t see those hospitalized cases until a little further away. “
COVID grades are also surging in wastewater. In Los Angeles County, wastewater grades were at 16% of the winter peak during the week ending May 25, compared with 8% for the week ending May 4. In Santa Clara County, the Bay Area county most populous: COVID degrees in wastewater are highest from San Jose to Palo Alto. There is also a noticeable accumulation in samples of San Francisco’s wastewater.
Across California, the presence of COVID in wastewater peaked during the week ending June 1, for the first time since February.
New subvariants are taking hold across the country. During the two weeks ending Friday, 55% of estimated COVID samples in the U. S. were not available in the U. S. The U. S. variants belonged to the FLiRT variants, up from 28. 6% the previous month. Another newcomer, LB. 1, is expected to account for 14. 9% of specimens nationwide, up from 6. 7% last month.
The parent of the FLiRT and LB. 1 subvariants, the winter-dominant JN. 1 strain, now accounts for about 3. 1% of strains nationally. LB. 1 belongs to the FLiRT subvariants, officially known as KP. 1. 1, KP. 2 and KP. . 3, and none are very different from JN. 1, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
“They’re different enough to augment and most likely exploit vulnerabilities, and they’re highly transmissible, but not so different” from JN. 1 as to pose a superior threat of severe disease, Chin-Hong said.
However, doctors remain concerned about the threat of severe illness and death in older adults and immunocompromised people, especially those who have not gotten an updated vaccine since September. More than 44,000 COVID deaths have been reported since October; in contrast, the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly flu surveillance report. The U. S. Department of Agriculture estimates 24,000 flu-related deaths in the same period.
A report released in March by the CDC, which looked at immunocompromised adults, found that only 18% had received an updated COVID-19 vaccine since September.
The CDC urges everyone 6 months and older to get vaccinated with the updated vaccine, and people 65 and older to get two shots, as long as it’s been four months since the first one.
But given that only 36% of California’s seniors have received a COVID vaccine since September, doctors say it’s vital that the rest of the population 65 and older get the vaccine now.
Several racial and ethnic groups have begun to see even lower vaccination rates among older adults. In California, only 31. 6% of Black seniors, 29. 9% of Asian American seniors, and 22. 8% of Latino seniors have earned an updated COVID test. -19 vaccination.
Vaccination rates for seniors also vary by region: below the state average in much of Southern California and higher in the San Francisco Bay Area. Los Angeles County reports that 30. 8% of its seniors are up to date on their vaccinations; in San Diego County, 38. 6%; Orange County, 34. 2%; Riverside County, 28. 1%; San Bernardino County, 26. 3%; Ventura County, 37. 4%; and Santa Barbara County, 40. 4%.
The percentage is about 46% in Santa Clara County, more than 50% in San Francisco County and only about 60% in Marin County.
“Many other people have not even had the opportunity to get married. How about we make sure that happens? Chin-Hong said about the elderly. “Everyone over 65 will likely get vaccinated before the new vaccine rollout in the fall. “
If an elderly user were to get vaccinated against COVID now, there would still be ample time to receive the formulas that will arrive this fall around Halloween, which is a smart time to get vaccinated against the winter surge in COVID infections, Chin-Hong. saying.
“For those who are more vulnerable, I would suggest getting the first or second shot,” Hudson said.
Chin-Hong said the patients she has seen hospitalized for COVID have not received an updated vaccine in the past year.
There is still strong data demonstrating the vaccine’s efficacy, even though the latest edition was designed in contrast to the XBB. 1. 5 subvariant, which replaced JN. 1 this winter.
In a report submitted last week to an advisory committee of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration said that the U. S. Food and Drug Administration had been asked to report to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. In the U. S. , CDC epidemiologist Ruth Link-Gelles said the September vaccine provided greater coverage against symptomatic illness, as well as hospitalizations, emergency room visits and COVID-related emergency care, by comparison. to which I did not get an updated photo.
But scientists also observed a weakening of immunity over time, which is surprising, given that the same phenomenon has been observed with previous Covid vaccines. As before, the long-lasting maximum coverage introduced through the new vaccine protects against severe disease, Link-Gelles said.
The newer vaccine offers coverage unlike JN. 1, but less than if a user were exposed to an XBB subvariant, Link-Gelles said.
The FDA’s Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products voted unanimously last week to propose that this fall’s updated COVID vaccine formula be designed in opposition to JN. 1 and not FLiRT or any other JN. 1 descendant.
Betting on one of the later descendants, such as FLiRT, can result in a poor adaptation if the descendant outgrows it. But sticking to a shot that protects against the original strain can guarantee a better game this winter.
“The COVID vaccine still offers very smart coverage against severe illness and against other people who end up in the hospital,” Hudson said. But “COVID is still very, very new to us as a species, and by the very nature of what coronaviruses do, they have a tendency to mutate rapidly. So, it’s not surprising to see that over time, the coverage that would be obtained with that COVID vaccine would have the tendency to minimize a bit.
One promising breakthrough that is not yet available is getting the flu and COVID vaccine in a single shot. It may not happen until the fall of 2025, but its revelation may be a game-changer and COVID vaccination rates. An estimated 22. 5% of adults nationwide reported receiving the last COVID vaccine, according to survey data reported to the CDC, compared to about 48. 5% for the flu.
“If you can achieve two things with a single needle, I totally agree,” Chin-Hong said.
The Moderna edition of the combined flu and COVID vaccine was more effective than getting the COVID and flu vaccines separately, Hudson said. Other brands are also expected to expand combined flu and COVID vaccines.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported a slight increase in new COVID-related hospitalizations — an average of 19. 6 per day, up from 16. 9 per day about three weeks ago. Nine percent of hospitalized patients are in intensive care, yet “Deaths remain low and stable,” with an average of one death per day, the firm said.
Previously, the backlog of COVID cases and mid-year hospitalizations in Los Angeles County began in early July, in 2021 and 2023, but in early May 2022.
“With the surge and gatherings over the summer, coverage against COVID-19 infection remains vital as a new group of variants has begun to circulate across the country,” the Ministry of Public Health said. “Summer plans can be interrupted without problems by COVID. “-19 and increased transmission continue to pose an increasing threat to older adults. “
In addition to staying up to date on vaccines, the government recommends common-sense measures to decrease the risk of spreading disease and being in poor health: people in poor health stay home and wash their hands frequently, especially before dinner and after sneezing or coughing. COVID testing is vital to help limit the spread of the disease and can also help others know when to order an anti-COVID drug like Paxlovid, which can reduce the risk of severe illness or death in people at higher risk.
People who are contagious with COVID stay at home and, if they want to be in the company of other people, they wear a mask. Those who want to reduce the risk of getting infected can wear a mask in indoor public places and in crowded areas.
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