LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Public Health staff updated the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday about the latest developments with COVID-19, including case and testing rates, and efforts to include vaccine coverage.
Acting Public Health Officer Dr. Evan Bloom and epidemiologist Sarah Marikos joined the board via Zoom.
“The short of it is that things remain the same,” said Bloom, noting case rates are low at 3.3 per 100,000 people, with testing positivity of 2.5 percent
“There have been some upticks in cases around Northern California,” Bloom noted.
“We are seeing some indications of possible mild upticks within Lake County, however, that remains to be seen with our numbers,” he added.
Bloom said vaccination coverage rates also remain the same.
Marikos said testing is declining statewide, with an overall test positivity rate of 0.8% and the daily case rate at 2 cases per 100,000 people.
She said the state was set to release its updated tier metrics on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy later that day, with Lake County to remain in the orange tier, indicating moderate transmission. She said that ranking is based on data from May 23 to 29.
Lake is among 35 counties in the orange tier this week, with 19 in the yellow, or minimal transmission, tier and three in the red, or substantial transmission, tier. There are none in the widespread, or purple tier, according to the state’s blueprint website.
Marikos said the state will be running the blueprint for the last time next week as it’s planning to sunset the framework on June 15.
She said Lake County’s overall case rate has been really stable since mid-April, with the number of cases ranging from 12 to 24 per week.
Testing is declining slightly in Lake County and also is declining statewide, said Marikos.
Compared to a lot of other rural counties, Lake County is doing a good job of testing people and keeping the testing rate up, she added.
Over the last two week, about 950 county residents were newly vaccinated. Marikos said 53% of Lake County residents age 12 and older are now fully or partially vaccinated, compared to 66% of Californians.
Marikos offered the following vaccination breakdowns by age group: 8% of those in the 12 to 17 age group are vaccinated; 37% of those ages 18 to 49; 67%, ages 60 to 64; and 61%, age 65 and older.
With vaccinations slowing, the disparity between Lake County’s numbers and state is growing, because the state is vaccinating at a higher pace, Marikos said.
Speaking to the sunsetting of the blueprint framework, Bloom said, “Although the restrictions for businesses are going away, and that we are all happy that they are going away, the virus is not going away. The virus is still here, which is why vaccination is important.”
He said the virus comes in waves, and its impact differs in times of the year and seasons, which is why he encouraged people to get the vaccine.
Public Health is concerned that the vaccination rate and coverage is slowing, particularly in the 65-plus and 18 to 49 age ranges, he said.
“Vaccination is still important because we have not reached a level where we would feel that we could avoid a significant surge based on vaccine coverage of the county,” he said.
He encouraged people to continue to take precautions after the tiers go away on June 15, including wearing a mask if necessary and continuing to use social distancing, including in large groups.
There were some big community events recently where masking and social distancing didn’t take place, and he said Public Health is starting to see some cases from people who attended those events. That leads them to be concerned about more upcoming events, like July 4.
“The virus is still with us, unfortunately, so use your common sense,” Bloom said.
All of the vaccines are available throughout Lake County, with Bloom noting that Public Health is working on a number of different fronts to try to increase vaccination coverage incrementally.
Bloom said Public Health is working with school boards and will soon be starting clinics for children and families that will rotate throughout Lake County’s school districts.
They also are working with Behavioral Health, Medicare and Medicaid providers, and Public Health has applied for support from the state for mobile vaccination teams, he said.
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