“It’s causing mild illness, but a lot of it. It started early, but it hasn’t peaked yet,” said a North Bay infectious disease expert. |
Where to get tested for COVID-19
With the pandemic winding down, government-subsidized COVID-19 testing is harder to come by. The federal government back in March suspended a program that allowed people to order and receive free tests via mail.
In many cases, at-home test kits can be obtained through medical providers or at local pharmacies. Also, the federal government still provides subsidies for low-income residents purchasing test kits at pharmacies.
Here are some options:
* CVS: All MinuteClinic and select CVS Pharmacy locations offer COVID-19 testing. CVS Pharmacy provides no-cost testing for uninsured patients under the federal government’s Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) for COVID-19 program. Insured patients’ out-of-pocket costs vary based on their insurance plan. For more information, visit CVS.com to find CVS Pharmacy and MinuteClinic testing sites in their area.
* Walgreens: Both antigen and PCR tests can be obtained at Walgreens, and the pharmacy also has no-cost options for people without insurance. For more information, visit: pdne.ws/4fnWL09.
* Kaiser Permanente members can order low-cost mailed COVID tests from kp.org and may be eligible for reimbursement, depending on their plan. Some coverage plans also allow members to pick up tests at their local Kaiser pharmacy at no charge. Those members who need a PCR test can schedule one online at kp.org as an e-visit.
A significant summer surge of COVID-19 infections continues to sweep across Sonoma and Napa counties — as well as across California and the nation ‒ with some local health experts saying there’s more to come.
The current wave of COVID-19 infections is being driven by the highly infectious FLiRT subvariant but, fortunately, does not appear to be causing as severe illness as previous pandemic surges, according to local health officials and medical experts.
“It’s a tremendous summer surge,” Dr. Gary Green, an infectious disease expert with Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital. “It’s causing mild illness but a lot of it. It started early but it hasn’t peaked yet.”
Green said that currently nearly 50% of all nasal swabs done in Sutter outpatient clinics are turning up positive. Just three weeks ago, that positivity rate was 30%.
For comparison purposes, the start of flu season is usually declared when swab positivity rates hit 10%, Green said, adding that spread of the latest COVID-19 subvariant is fairly universal, affecting people of all ages.
Green said that as of Monday there were 4 people admitted into Sutter’s Santa Rosa hospital with COVID-19. However, he said, none were being treated in intensive care units.
“Those who are admitted into the hospital are frail and elderly,” Green said. “But we’re getting so many calls from patients.”
According to the latest wastewater surveillance data in both Sonoma and Napa counties, the level of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 illness, has been steadily increasing since late April and early May, respectively.
In Santa Rosa, the amount level of virus being detected in wastewater is fast approaching historic levels. As of July 20, SARS-CoV-2 was detected at 90% of the maximum historic level in Santa Rosa.
Dr. Christine Wu, Napa County public health director and health officer, said SARS-CoV-2 levels detected in wastewater were “much higher” — 2-to-3 times greater — than they were last year during same period.
“Despite the high number of cases and facility outbreaks, hospitalizations have not increased,” Wu said in an email. “However, given the high number of cases, this is a key time for prevention.”
Federal data show coronavirus levels in California's wastewater are surging to levels not seen in summertime since 2022, indicating a wide and worsening spread of COVID.
This latest surge is being fueled in large part by the FLiRT variants — highly transmissible sibling strains that are descendants of the JN.1 variant that was dominant last winter.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that strain accounted for 17.7% of coronavirus samples nationwide for the two-week period that ended July 20, up from 6.8% for the prior comparable period.
New/old protocols
With the increase in COVID-19 cases, Green said on Aug. 1 Sutter will begin testing anyone who is admitted into the hospital or is undergoing an outpatient procedure.
Meanwhile, staff, patients and visitors will be encouraged to wear a mask, he said.
Green said he’s not surprised by the current level and dynamic of virus spread in the community, a lot of it caused by people with mild or no symptoms.
“The milder the virus is, the larger the proportion of people who will be asymptomatic and still spreading the virus,” he said.
Kathleen Sarmento, director of nursing at Santa Rosa Community Health, one of the county’s largest consortium of community clinics, said they’re getting a lot of calls from patients with COVID-19 symptoms or who have tested positive using antigen, home tests.
Those calls go through a call center that routes patients to four to six nurses who triage patients based on the severity of their symptoms. Sarmento said that although there’s been a significant rise in cases, most cases are mild and thus not overburdening clinic resources.
“We’re having a major uptick,” she said, adding that “a lot of our staff are getting it.”
“Sometimes these calls will come in and honestly the symptoms are nothing like they used to be,” Sarmento said. “That's what we're seeing, they're not that bad. Some people, it kicks their butts, and sometimes they're going to want medication to help with it. But over the years, it seems like this virus is kind of mutated into something that's more like the flu.”
No new mandates
Wu said those who live or come into close contact with vulnerable residents, including the elderly, frail and immunocompromised, should consider wearing a well-fitted mask to decrease the chance of getting others sick.
A similar message was issued by San Francisco public health officials last week, via the X social media platform. Officials said that with COVID-19 circulating, “please consider wearing a well-fitted mask in crowded indoor spaces.”
The advice, which San Francisco public health officials have posted on several occasions in the past month, is not a mandate.
Dr. Tanya Phares, Sonoma County’s health officer, also said the ongoing summer surge has not triggered any new mandate or public health restrictions. The county is currently following guidelines established by the California Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said.
“Masking can give you added protection but there’s no mandate currently in Sonoma County or elsewhere that I’m aware of,” Phares said.
That said, Phares said, people “should wear a mask” if they have respiratory symptoms; if they test positive for COVID-19; if they’ve been exposed to the virus; or if they’re at high risk of becoming severely ill.
Phares said periodic surges of COVID-19 have been common occurrence since the beginning of the pandemic. The virus is ever-present and has yet to achieve the kind of seasonality of other respiratory illnesses, such as the flu, she said.
New vaccine coming
Phares said one of the biggest culprits in the ongoing surge is low vaccination rates.
“It's been about 23% in the overall population, so we could do a lot better getting vaccinated and maintaining up-to-date vaccine coverage,” she said.
The new updated COVID-19 vaccine is expected to become available in August or September. That vaccine will have elements of the JN.1 variant and should provide better protection against FLiRT variants, health experts said.
Phares, also cautioned that people are still dying of COVID-19. As of about a week ago, there have been 39 COVID-19 deaths in Sonoma County this year. In the past two months, there have been 15 deaths.
She said 67 people were hospitalized in the month of June, compared to 26 in May. But Phares said those numbers do not reflect the actual hospitalization figures, as only about half local hospitals are reporting data to the county.
“We don’t always have the robust data that we had in the past, so it doesn’t give us an exact report,” she said.
The new vaccine is expected to be available for Kaiser members in September.
You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.
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