By Jondi Gumz
The death toll from COVID-19 in Santa Cruz County is up to 228 but the local impact of the South African Omicron variant is not clear.
Omicron, which spreads much more easily than the Delta variant, prompted Gov. Newsom to order health care workers to get a booster shot by Feb. 1 and University of California campuses, including UC Santa Cruz, to order classes to shift online for the first two weeks of January.
However, reports from South Africa, Denmark and the United Kingdom indicate case rose with fewer hospitalizations and Omicron cases resolving more quickly.
In Denmark, a study by Statnes Serum Institute of 43,000 cases found only 0.5% of Omicron patients were treated at a hospital, compared to 1.4% of patients with other variants.
The rise in U.S. cases and the quicker resolution led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to reduce the isolation time for those with a positive test from 10 days to five days if they have no fever and no other symptoms. This change is expected to relieve short-staffing pressures at hospitals and airlines due to exposures.
In November, Dr. Paul Marik, director of the Intensive Care Unit at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, sued to regain access to FDA-approved drugs and other therapies that had been highly effective for critically ill patients with COVID-19, reducing ICU deaths by as much as 50 percent. The lawsuit contends Sentara Healthcare is “preventing terminally ill COVID patients from exercising their right to choose and to receive safe, potentially life-saving treatment determined to be appropriate for them by their attending physician.”
As Marik put it, “This case is about doctors, having the ability to honor their Hippocratic oath, to follow evidence-based medicine, and to treat our patients the best we know how … I refuse to watch another patient die from COVID-19 knowing that I was not allowed to give them proven treatments that could have saved their life.”
Omicron arrived in California after 11 Kaiser hospital employees in Oakland attended a wedding in Milwaukee, Wis. They were vaccinated, with boosters, and took off their masks while eating and drinking. They reported mild symptoms, and recovered at home.
Omichron’s fast-spreading nature and modeling predicting a January surge led to UCSC’s announcement on Dec. 21 of online classes in January.
California health officials say people with two shots aren’t protected from the Omicron variant, so they recommend a second booster.
Two of the people in Santa Cruz County who recently died with Covid had underlying conditions.
The most recent was a man in his early 80s who had been vaccinated but did not have a booster shot. It’s not clear which variant he had.
It’s impossible to say how many cases are due to a variant, because the county dashboard reports all cases together, not by variant.
The newest data challenge is the new at-home PCR tests, which President Biden promises to make available to the public for free. They give people fast results but there’s no requirement to report results to county health officials.
So the Santa Cruz County health dashboard may be undercounting in the future as more people take advantage of home testing.
Clearly holiday gatherings have led to higher case counts — such as 80 on Dec. 20 — but that daily count is much smaller than in Jan. 4, 2020, when Delta predominated and the daily count peaked at 300.
Local Omicron
Santa Cruz County Public Health reported two COVID-19 samples collected on Dec. 16 and 17 were identified as the Omicron variant. Both are North County residents in their mid-20s.
Dr. Cal Gordon, Santa Cruz County deputy health officer, said individuals should get vaccinated and boosted, wear a mask indoors and in crowded settings, get tested if symptomatic or exposed; and stay home if sick. Everyone 5 years and older is eligible for a vaccine and everyone 16 years and older is eligible for a booster.
A Danish study published Dec. 22 and not yet peer reviewed reports a third dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech’s or Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine offers a “significant” increase in protection against the Omicron variant for people age 60 and up.
Contract Tracing Texts
Santa Cruz County health officials advise people to get tested before visiting or traveling, upon return, and again 3-5 days later. They recommend keeping group gatherings small, preferably outside or in a well-ventilated space.
A new contact tracing system is being used — the state’s Contact Tracing Virtual Assistant may send you a text message from 23393, the California COVID-19 Response Team. Health officials ask for cooperation to help stop COVID from spreading.
Some testing sites are on holiday schedules, resuming regular hours on Jan. 3.
For local information on COVID-19 including on where to get vaccinated or tested go to www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus or call (831) 454-4242 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
On Dec. 13, with California Covid cases up 47 percent and hospitalizations up 14 percent, the state Department of Public Health ordered masks be worn indoors to prevent this highly transmissible variant from spreading. Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel had already ordered masks to be worn indoors as of Nov. 22, including at home with guests.
On Dec. 15, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported Omicron infections are likely in people who are fully vaccinated.
A U.S. study, not yet peer-reviewed, found all three U.S. Covid vaccines appear to be significantly less protective against the Omicron variant in lab testing, but a booster dose appears to restore protection.
Pfizer reported three shots neutralized Omicron in the lab. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have not released data.
Santa Cruz County reports 753 active cases as of Dec. 26, up from 596 active cases a week ago, 22,399 cases since the pandemic began, 638 hospitalizations, and 234,700 negative test results. Statistics are updated on Mondays and Thursdays.
A total of 12 people are hospitalized with COVID in the county, split between Dominican Hospital and Watsonville Community Hospital, which filed Dec. 5 for bankruptcy protection to pave the way for a sale. Two of them are in intensive care.
The CDC tracker reports positivity is 3.59 percent in Santa Cruz County, up from 2.37 percent a week ago; California’s positivity rate is up to 9.7 percent, and the state reports a seven-day average of 11.2 percent.
Student Cases
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education reports all positive cases of student and staff regardless of the source of transmission. See santacruzcoe.org/coviddashboards.
Scotts Valley Unified School District reports one active student case at Scotts Valley High and zero staff cases as of Dec. 13. The district is on winter break. Classes resume Jan. 3.
With Inspire Diagnostics, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education has conducted 136,600 PCR tests for COVID at no charge to those tested, and reports a 14-day positivity rate of 1.74 percent, up from 1.11 percent a week ago.
Testing for the school community is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. when the regular schedule resumes Jan. 3.
Regular testing hours are: Cabrillo’s parking lot K, 2-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday; the PVUSD District Office parking lot, open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays, and the county Office of Education, 400 Encinal St., Santa Cruz.
Students and their families, and staff and their families can get tested free; fill out the registration once at sccoe.link/inspiresc and go to any site — no appointment is needed.
Boosters & Mandates
Following authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine are available at the three local clinics for 16-17 year-olds who got their second dose at least six months ago.
Booster doses of all three vaccine types are available locally for all school staff. For appointments see https://santacruzcoe.org/boosters/
Booster shots are available for school staff who got their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least six months ago, or who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 2 months ago.
Shortly before Christmas, as the CDC estimated Omicron made up a majority ot cases, Gov. Newsom ordered health care workers to get a booster shot by Feb. 1.
A CDC analysis published Nov. 18 in the American Journal of Infection Control found 30 percent of healthcare workers in more than 2,000 U.S. were unvaccinated against COVID-19 as of Sept. 15.
Deaths are still rising — 820,000 in the United States, 75,500 in California, 228 in Santa Cruz County — and part of President Biden’s strategy is to mandate vaccines or weekly tests for employers with 100 more employees (part time as well as fulltime — independent contractors are not counted).
The deadline to comply is Jan. 4, but due to legal challenges, the future of the mandate is not known.
Four judicial rulings put mandates on hold, finding the administration’s orders mandating vaccines exceeded the power Congress had given the executive branch.
In Florida v. Department of Health and Human Services, a Florida district court upheld the CMS mandate. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed it on Dec. 6.
The Biden administration backed off on penalties this year for federal workers and military personnel not fully vaccinated (or requested a religious or medical exemption) by Nov. 22.
Enforcement will begin in 2022, when the unvaccinated may get a letter of reprimand. About 92 percent of federal employees are vaccinated.
92% One Dose
Health experts had surmised that once 70 percent of the population (or 80 percent or 85 percent) was vaccinated against COVID-19, the new coronavirus would fade away — the world could return to normal.
That hasn’t happened.
The CDC Covid Tracker says Santa Cruz County has 92.5 percent of those 12 and older with one dose and 82.2 percent of that age group fully vaccinated.
Studies show protection from Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccine begins to wane after a few months, which is why booster shots are available to those 18 and older whose shots were six months ago.
Dominican Hospital’s vaccine clinic has provided COVID-19 booster shots every Thursday since they were approved by the FDA and CDC. To make an appointment, see myturn.ca.gov.
Although protection wanes, studies show the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are highly protective against hospitalization.
The CDC said people can “mix and match” vaccines.
The Dignity Health Medical Group-Dominican pediatric practices in Aptos and Capitola began offering the Pfizer vaccine to their patients 5 years and older after the FDA granted authorization.
Some parents worry about myocarditis, heart inflammation, which has been reported in adolescent and young adult males. It is a rare condition and Dr. Steven Black, co-director of the Global Vaccine Data Network, a consortium researching vaccine safety, told The New York Times that physicians will know to look for it.
Some parents worried about long-term side effects do not want to vaccinate their children. In other cases, if the children have had COVID, the parents contend they have natural immunity.
Jobs
Santa Cruz County had a healthy 103,400 jobs as of mid-November, and unemployment was 4.9%, down from 6.6% a year ago. Many businesses still have “help wanted” signs.
Cabrillo College has several jobs posted on Indeed.com, including a part-time adjunct instructor for communications, and accounting technician, starting at $4,100 per month and pat-time athletic trainer, $3,140 per month. Peet’s in Scotts Valley is offering $16-$19 an hour for a part-time barista, and the city of Scotts Valley is starting an entry-level police officer at $6,347 a month.
•••
Total COVID cases: 22,399
COVID Deaths: 228
As of Dec.29
Age
85 and older: 98 • 75-84: 51 • 65-74: 41 • 60-64: 14 • 55-59: 3 • 45-54: 9 • 35-44: 7 • 25-34: 5
Underlying Conditions
Yes: 181 • No: 47
Race
White 126 • Latinx 83 • Asian 16 • Black 1 • Amer Indian/Alaskan native 1
Gender
Male: 117 • Female 111
Aging Facility
Yes: 107 • No 121