Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Wednesday, Dec. 22. I’m Justin Ray.
Again, things don’t look too good.
Public health officials fear that a wave of new infections will sweep through America during the winter. If they rise too much, they may affect the hospital system in a way not seen since the summer Delta surge.
People who are vaccinated and have received booster shots are still expected to be well protected against hospitalization and death, even against Omicron.
But Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical advisor on the pandemic, and other health experts say that with Omicron’s spread they expect more breakthrough infections among vaccinated people — meaning they are at a higher risk for coming down with mild symptoms and being contagious.
On Tuesday, President Biden outlined his new plan to address COVID-19: The administration will order 500 million at-home tests to ship free to Americans, dispatch 1,000 members of the military to support hospitals and set up new testing and vaccination sites.
But I wanted to know more about the potential local impact. What is going on in California, and what should Golden State residents watch for in the future?:
Omicron begins to spread. The majority of California’s confirmed Omicron cases have been recorded in Los Angeles County. Orange and Riverside counties on Friday reported their first cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant. In Orange County, the variant was found in a fully vaccinated man who experienced mild illness after traveling to another state, public health authorities said.
Increasing fatigue. The limiting factor for many hospitals will not be bedsbut having enough people to staff them, said Dr. Nancy Gin, regional medical director of quality for Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Some healthcare professionals might be understandably burned out. “What is going to be a concern for the entire medical community this year is that ‘Great Resignation’ that we’ve been hearing about with regard to healthcare personnel,” she said. Additionally, some doctors are concerned that people are so fed up with the pandemic that they won’t wear masks at a time when transmission is expected to climb.
The areas in California at risk. Unfortunately, the places in the state that have well-staffed health facilities also have higher vaccination rates. Experts are especially nervous about regions with low vaccination rates, like the Inland Empire and San Joaquin Valley. Even before Omicron, places like Fresno County during its Delta surge were seeking help from L.A. County to transfer patients to Los Angeles, underscoring the Central Valley’s vulnerability.
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