With COVID-19 cases falling from their January peak, the omicron surge seems to be over in Santa Clara County.
Cases dropped from their all-time high of just under 6,500 in January’s second week to 1,429 Feb. 1. The seven-day rolling average of cases totaled 2,473 as of the Town Crier’s print deadline.
El Camino Hospital’s chief nursing officer Cheryl Reinking said the situation is “what we’ve all been calling the ‘new normal,’ meaning it’s here to stay, we need to live with it.” What the future looks like as medical authorities and local residents deal with the reality of so-called breakthrough COVID cases is still evolving.
El Camino does not disclose data on how many of its COVID patients are vaccinated or unvaccinated for privacy reasons, but Reinking said current patients are either unvaccinated or vaccinated with a comorbidity. As of Jan. 1, the hospital had 46 patients hospitalized for
COVID, down from its maximum number of 52 patients during the omicron surge. More than 89.3% of county residents older than age 5 have received initial doses of a vaccine, and approximately 65% have received a booster. Current research suggests that though vaccination cannot always prevent infection, it is highly effective at preventing severe illness.
Reinking said considering “safe practices and procedures” is one of the first steps in preparing for the new normal. Masks, she added, are likely here to stay.
“I was just talking to a nurse today who was saying, ‘Cheryl, I think we’re going to be wearing masks forever, and why weren’t we wearing them before?’” Reinking said.
Despite hope for a more livable pandemic, she said it still isn’t over.
“Our staff has been incredibly resilient, and they’ve worked so hard,” Reinking said. “My one plea is that it’s so important to remember to be safe and not let our guard down and to get our vaccination and our
booster.”
COVID pills
Another factor that may shape the new reality – two take-at-home pills have been approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. One, the Pfizer-developed Paxlovid, uses an antiviral enzyme blocker whose clinical trial began at El Camino Hospital.
Neither pill is available to El Camino patients yet, and Reinking said the hospital still doesn’t know when they will be allotted doses.
Pills pass through multiple levels of government decision making before they reach an individual hospital. The federal government first purchases the pills and allocates them to states based on population. Then, a state divvies up the pills to counties based on case counts and equity issues. Finally, the county decides which pharmacies and hospitals get the pills.
“There are only certain pharmacies in the county who are distributing it,” Reinking said. “I’ve even heard that there are shortages of this medication in our county.”
