By Jondi Gumz
A sign the Covid-19 pandemic is easing: On Friday, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed mask guidelines for 63% of counties.
Based on new cases and hospital admissions, Santa Cruz County rates medium, yellow on the map, so new guidelines apply. The CDC said people with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask. The recommendation for those at high risk for severe illness is to talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions.
In the past two weeks, three Santa Cruz County residents with significant underlying conditions died of Covid-19, bringing the death toll over two years to 252.
Underlying conditions were a factor in all 13 of the most recent deaths during the peak of the highly contagious and thought-to-be-mild Omicron variant. Eleven of the people who died were 75 or older.
Meanwhile, the number of active cases has plummeted – from more than 10,000 at the peak in January to 2,473 as of Feb. 24 — and a bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Watsonville Community Hospital to the Pajaro Valley Health Care District Project.
Statewide hospitalizations, which had exceeded 15,000 at the peak, have dropped below 5,000, and the test positivity rate, which was 23% in January, has fallen to 4%.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 blocked the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration mandate that employers with 100 or more workers vaccinate or test, saying the agency did not have the right, California lawmakers have introduced various bills to address Covid-19.
The Supreme Court allowed a federal vaccine mandate for health care workers and of course employers can mandate vaccines or tests for their employees if they feel it’s needed.
On the table in California: AB 1993 Assembly Member Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) to mandate vaccines for all employees and independent contractors — and require employers to verify their workers are immunized. It may be heard in committee March 13. Co-authors include Assembly Member Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley) and Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento).
Senate Bill 1479, proposed by Pan, to mandate Covid testing plans and require the California Department of Public Health to help school districts develop them.
Senate Bill 871, proposed by Pan, to end a personal belief exemption in the state’s student vaccine mandate.
Senate Bill 866, proposed by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, to allow children 12 and older to get COVID vaccines without parental consent.
Track these bills at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Parents United Attorney Alleges Bullying of Unvaccinated Students
A lawyer representing Santa Cruz County Parents United contends healthy children whose parents decided against the Covid-19 vaccine face bullying and discrimination by teachers and calls on all schools in Santa Cruz County to cease violations of the law, or expect a lawsuit.
In a seven-page letter Feb. 19 to Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Faris Sabbah, Carmel attorney Tracy Henderson alleged a kindergartner was refused in-person instruction because the parents chose not to vaccinate, or as she put it, “chose not to enter a 5-year-old into a medical trial” and a 2-year-old was dis-enrolled because the parents did not wear masks in their car during pick-up and drop-off. “Coaches are passing around lists of the un-injected to embarrass students,” she added. “… several children have been forced to miss school for upwards of 10-28 days for allegedly coming into contact with someone who tested ‘positive.’”
The demand came three days after the California Department of Public Health lifted the indoor mask mandate, seeing Covid hospitalization from the highly contagious and less deadly Omicron variant plummet. Hospitalizations in Santa Cruz County are down from 43 to 22, including three in intensive care, according to a state dashboard, which updates daily.
All 10 school superintendents in Santa Cruz County have responded in unison to the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of 84,928 Californians including 254 Santa Cruz County residents in the past two years.
Omicron, which causes cold-like symptoms, was identified locally on Dec. 16 and is suspected in 29 deaths, while 225 deaths can be attributed to the initial coronavirus and then the Delta variant. Two-thirds of the local deaths were people 75 or older, and 79% to 81% had pre-existing conditions.
Henderson contends the state Department of Public Health has not added “the Covid injection” to the list of 10 required school immunizations. She contends the Covid shot available is not the FDA-approved Pfizer Comirnaty, but the Pfizer BioNTech product, which has only emergency use authorization for ages 12-15, and thus cannot be mandated for those children. She contends the Pfizer BioNTech product, until licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, remains investigational and that federal law explicitly prohibits a child from being enrolled in a clinical trial of an investigational product without parents’ express consent.
She alleged the vaccine mandate for parents watching their children’s activities violates the Unruh Act, prohibiting discrimination against someone based on a medical condition — such as vaccination status — and noted civil penalties of $25,000.
She urged school districts to use the Covid funds they received to modify building ventilation systems “instead of causing mental suffering and learning loss.”
Sabbah responded on Feb. 25, saying the County Office of Education “has been and will continue to follow the requirements and guidance from the California Department of Public Health, the California Department of Education and local health authorities. When the requirements and guidance change, we will review those changes and make any appropriate adjustments.”
He added, “We are not in agreement with many of your statements and analysis regarding the requirements.” And he pointed Henderson to the standard form used to file a claim: http://sccoe.link/GovCode910
According to Henderson, members of Santa Cruz County Parents United have children at Monte Vista Christian School, Twin Lakes Christian School, Santa Cruz City Schools, and Pajaro Valley Unified School District.
Hospital Sale Approved
On Feb. 22, Judge Mary Elaine Hammond approved the sale of the Watsonville Community Hospital operation — which has 620 employees — to the Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project, a local consortium that was the sole bidder.
Fundraising has generated $20 million, and leaders such as Mimi Hall, formerly the county’s Health Services director, hopes to gain state funding, which could happen in light of a $20 billion budget surplus.
To donate to the consortium, see www.pvhdp.org/
Watsonville Community Hospital has been sharing the local Covid patient load with Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.
School Mask Mandate
On Feb. 16, Santa Cruz County and Bay Area counties followed Gov. Gavin Newsom in lifting the indoor mask mandate in response to declining hospitalizations and test positivity.
The state still requires masks at schools — attendees at high school basketball playoffs must be masked — but will reassess data Feb. 28.
Parent Rob Ellison was outraged by photos of Gov. Newsom, without a mask, with sports celebrity Magic Johnson, without a mask, taken at a sold-out, 80,000-fan Los Angeles Rams game and posted on Johnson’s Instagram page.
His concern: Kids in masks with speech delays, reading delays, depression and anxiety – and the double standard for Newsom, according to the full-page ad in the San Francisco Chronicle. For information, email outragedparentsbayarea@gmail.com.
Ellison created a GoFundMe campaign to spread the word and 300+ donors gave more than $15,000.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revoked that Emergencies Act nine days after police broke up a encampment of protesters in the nation’s capital seeking an end to Covid restrictions.
Myocarditis
In Japan, the number of case reports of myocarditis following COVID-19 vaccination have recently increased, according to a case study published in January 2022.
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart, which can lead to clots, a stroke or heart attack.
The Japanese government amended the label for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna to add myocarditis to their list of significant “adverse drug reactions.”
Young Kids, No Approval
Parents anxious to have shots for their younger children (six months to 4 years) must wait for Pfizer and BioNTech to gather more data on whether a third dose produces the desired result. That may be in early April.
When Pfizer began applying for emergency use authorization for young children, the application was for two doses, not three. According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the goal was to see if two doses would provide enough protection.
In January, Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House chief medical adviser, said younger children will likely need three doses because two shots did not induce an adequate immune response in 2- to 4-year-olds in Pfizer’s clinical trials.
Mary Holland, president and general counsel of Children’s Health Defense, contends there is no COVID emergency for children under 5 years old.
Children have a 99.995% recovery rate, and a body of medical literature indicates that “almost zero” healthy children under 5 have died from COVID, according to Holland. She cited these studies:
- Germany: Zero deaths for children under 5.
- England and Wales: Throughout 2020 and 2021, only one child under 5 without comorbidities died from COVID . A comorbidity means one or more diseases is present along with the primary infection.
Vaccination
Public health officials consider vaccinations to be the number one tool to prevent hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19.
According to County Public Health, and the most recent three deaths were unvaccinated along with being older and having underlying conditions. (The county website now lists vaccination status as “yes” or “no.”)
The most COVID fatalities in the county occurred in January 2021, when vaccines were not available and 22 people died in one week, according to the county Covid-19 dashboard.
California reports 83% of residents age 5 and up have had at least one shot.
On the CDC Covid tracker, Santa Cruz County reports 92.7% of residents age 12 and up have at least one shot and 84.6% fully vaccinated, numbers little changed fromtwo weeks ago.
Fully vaccinated means having two shots (Pfizer or Moderna) or one Johnson & Johnson shot. All were developed for the initial Covid-19 coronavirus.
For Omicron, a booster shot is needed. Booster shots are 90 percent effective against preventing Omicron hospitalizations, according to the federal Centers of Disease Control.
Public health officials say the scientific consensus is that Covid vaccines are safe, but protest leaders were skeptical about relying on science from drug-makers, which saw profits rise in 2021. They point to the U.S. government database, https://vaers.hhs.gov/, where health care providers are to report adverse events after a vaccine.
The reporting site was created after Congress passed a law in 1986 protecting vaccine manufacturers from civil personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits resulting from vaccine injuries.
After Covid arrived, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar invoked the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, a 2005 law that allows the HHS secretary to provide legal protection to companies making or distributing critical medical supplies such as vaccines unless there’s “willful misconduct” by the company, according to a report by CNBC.
This lowers the cost of immunizations, and the protection lasts until 2024.
Dr. Pamela Popper of Ohio has sued HHS, FDA and CDC concerning vaccines for kids under 16, hopes to get discovery, the point at which both sides can get evidence. Updates are at https://makeamericansfreeagain.com/
On Jan. 6, federal judge Allen Winsor in Florida denied a motion by the U.S. Department of Defense seeking to block discovery of evidence. The lawsuit was filed by 18 service members challenging the vaccine mandate.
Omicron
The assumption is Omicron, the most easily transmissible variant of the Covid-19 coronavirus, quickly drove the increase in January and the decline in February.
Omicron was confirmed in two cases in the county on Dec. 16 and 17.
The numbers ballooned from 325 cases confirmed on Dec. 29 to 1,265 confimred on Jan. 20, according to the county health dashboard, which is updated twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays.
Hospitalizations are down from 43 to 19, including five in intensive care, according to a state dashboard, which updates daily.
Possibly people entered the hospital with another condition or for scheduled surgery, then got tested for Covid. The dashboard does not explain.
The California Department of Public Health estimates Omicron comprises 91% of cases statewide and Delta 6.5% but does not have a breakdown of Omicron hospitalizations or deaths.
Not all COVID-19 cases requiring hospitalization are sequenced, and the proportion of cases due to the Omicron variant that die is still being determined.
Less Deadly
Omicron is less deadly than Delta, which raged in 2021.
Santa Cruz County reports 252 Covid deaths, up from 225 as of Dec. 15, before Omicron.
One statistic is similar: 79% to 81% of those who died had pre-existing conditions.
Why do people fear Omnicron?
They may have a pre-existing condition (diabetes, obesity, asthma, high blood pressure).
Half of Americans do, so they are at higher risk for severe Covid illness.
So are people 85 and older.
Some people who got Covid experience “long Covid,” with fatigue and brain fog months afterward. A 2022 study in the journal Cell by researchers following more than 200 patients found many acute Covid patients had low cortisol, which could be addressed.
Pajaro Valley Schools
Pajaro Valley schools, with 19,000 students, report 1,307 active student cases and 82 staff cases in February.
Watsonville High School has the most student cases, 128, and 15 staff cases.
Aptos High School has 42 student cases and five staff cases, Aptos Junior High has 26 student cases and 1 staff case.
Valencia Elementary has 53 student cases and 3 staff cases; Mar Vista Elementary, 22 student cases and 3 staff cases. Rio del Mar Elementary has 14 student cases and zero staff cases.
Testing
Santa Cruz County Office of Education, with Inspire Diagnostic, has provided 327,100 tests.
Cases peaked at 4,407 on Jan. 27, dropping to 622 on Feb. 25. The 14-day positivity rate, 12.25% a month ago, is down to 4.0%.
The County Office of Education offers drive-though testing for students, staff and families at these locations:
Cabrillo College, Aptos, Parking Lot K, Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville, Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Santa Cruz County Office of Education, 399 Encinal St., Santa Cruz, Monday to Friday, 2 to 5 p.m.
Currently, all students in public schools countywide regardless of vaccination status are required to test weekly to participate in indoor sports, Band and Drama.
Schools consider test results administered by health care providers, Inspire drive-through/school clinics or CLIA-certified labs. Home tests are only for parental use.
Third-party programs on school campuses must follow CDPH guidelines which differ from those for schools.
These rules may change Feb. 28.
Hundreds of school staff have rapid response antigen tests, courtesy of the County Office of Education, and schools are distributing more for home use.
Directions are posted at drive.google.com/file/d/1U8AdsSyH14sDvrjD6T25krhvOFRFsuXs/view
For test options see: https://tinyurl.com/get-tested-santa-cruz.
Shorter Isolation
Based on federal recommendations, the state has shortened the isolation time for those testing positive from 10 days to five days.
Booster shot appointments can be scheduled at https://myturn.ca.gov/ and by asking your local doctor and pharmacies. For local vaccine providers, visit www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirusvaccine.
For help scheduling an appointment, call the Community Bridges Helpline at 831-219-8607 or 831-440-3556 (English, Spanish, Mixteco and Triqui).
For local information on COVID-19, go to www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus or call (831) 454-4242 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
•••
Total COVID cases: 3,238
•••
COVID Deaths: 252
As of Feb. 24
Age
85 and older: 108 • 75-84: 58 • 65-74: 44 • 60-64: 15 • 55-59: 4 • 45-54: 10 • 35-44: 8 • 25-34: 5
Underlying Conditions
Yes: 203 • No: 49
Race
White 143 • Latinx 88 • Asian 16 • Black 2 Amer Indian 1 • Hawaiian 1 • Another 1
Gender
Men: 128 • Women: 124
Location
At facility for aged: 113 • Not at a facility: 139