CDC
Today, the state is gripped by another variant of concern called BA.5, a subclass considered to have a growth advantage at least four times that of the original Omicron as of December. CDC data show that, at the end of last week, BA.5 and its sister subvariant BA.4 accounted for about 68% of new cases in the region that mostly included California, Arizona and Nevada. BA.5 accounts for the vast majority of these cases and looks set to retire all other variants in the coming weeks. CDPH California’s current 7-day test positivity rate is 16.7%. That gives the current summer surge the dubious honor of having the second-highest test positivity rate the state has seen during the pandemic. It is second only to last winter’s peak Omicron wave. And it’s still going higher. Since the increased rate of development of BA.5 is largely due to its ability to evade the protection provided by previous infection and — to a lesser extent — the protection provided by vaccination, the state cannot count on vaccination with same way it could with the original Omicron wave. In addition, the three most relevant metrics for health workers – hospital and ICU beds occupied by people infected with Covid and the average number of daily deaths from Covid – are already well above where they were before Christmas. The public health director in the state’s most populous county, Los Angeles, said yesterday that she expects her county to move to the CDC’s “High” level of Covid designation next week as a result of the rising numbers. If Los Angeles remains in that category for 14 days, the county will reimpose a mask mandate in public places. CDC Statewide, 35 of California’s 58 counties have also been designated by the CDC. A few of them have talked about bringing back the mask. Neither does the state. A seemingly bright spot in the area’s condition fades on closer inspection. Cases reported last month, while rising steadily, have not risen nearly as fast as they did in December. The problem is that reported test results have dropped dramatically since December as more Californians use at-home kits, the results of which are not captured in official reports. Because of that, White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha told Lester Holt on NBC’s Nightly News last night, “There’s no question in my mind that we’re missing the vast majority of infections right now.” . Even with the limited reporting of testing, the number recorded in California today – 13,000 new cases – is already 44% above the approximately 9,000 cases reported on December 15 of last year. This, combined with Golden State’s positive testing and a much more infectious variant, does not bode well.
