Here’s a sobering fact two years into the Covid-19 pandemic: Monterey County hit its highest case rate to date yesterday, Jan. 18, exceeding a previous record set on Jan. 9, 2021, the county’s epidemiologist, Kristy Michie, announced in an online media briefing today.
The current case rate is 108.6 per 100,000 residents. Last year’s record was 107.8.
“This really reflects how prevalent Covid-19 is in our communities right now [and] how efficient the omicron virus is in transmitting among the population,” Michie said. She reported the test positivity rate is 19.3, which means that for every 100 people who test for Covid, on average 19 test positive.
The good news is that the hospitalization rate is half of what it was during the winter of 2021, when hospitalizations hit a high of 217 in mid-January. Currently there are 103 people hospitalized who tested positive for Covid-19, Michie said.
She credited several factors including 81 percent of the eligible population receiving at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, as well as following other safety measures. There has been an uptick in people getting booster shots, especially in people over the age of 50.
Research shows that people who are fully vaccinated and boosted will fare much better than unvaccinated people with the virus, and will experience far less hospitalizations and death. Miche said it’s not too late to get vaccinated for the first time or get a booster shot. Information on clinics for the free vaccines are available on montereycountyvaccines.com.
Michie said omicron will remain high for the next two weeks. She cautioned that people not let their guard down. “I know it’s been a long pandemic and people want to return to a more normal situation but in the next few weeks it’s important to continue to do our best to implement preventative measures,” she said. In addition to getting vaccinated, these preventative measures include things like wearing masks, social distancing, testing and staying home when sick.
Up-to-date testing information is also available at montereycountyvaccines.com, as well as by following social media sites like Facebook and Instagram for Monterey County and the VIDA Project, according to Kim Stemler, who has been coordinating vaccine and test information for the Covid-19 Collaborative of the Community Foundation for Monterey County.
Social media is often the best source of information about pop-up clinics, posted shortly before they open. Stemler urged people to be patient, since there are shortages of testing supplies and staff, some of whom have become ill with Covid.