Beware, COVID-19 cases surging in San Jose
flu. And COVID-19 is still deadly, contributing to over 1,000 deaths in California since Oct. 1. Between Dec. 10-16, 2,800 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 across the state, compared to just over 1,000 for the flu.
Dr. Peter Chin-hong, an infectious disease doctor at the University of California San Francisco, said there were 27 COVID-19 patients at his hospital on Dec. 27 — including two in the intensive care unit. That's compared to 15 patients two weeks earlier. Most of those in the hospital, he said, are above age 75 and unvaccinated.
“It's easier to catch because (the new variant) is more transmissible. That's why it seems that everybody and their neighbor has COVID right now,” said Chin-hong.
While hospitalizations are up statewide and nationally, they are nowhere near the heights during the virus' early surges. Hospitalized COVID-19 patients peaked at 146,000 in late January 2022 but dropped down to just 20,000 in mid-december 2023. In California, current hospitalizations are around 1,900, just a fraction of the over 22,000 people hospitalized during in January 2021.
There's also the risk of catching other respiratory viruses, such as RSV and the flu, Chin-hong said.
Still, for some New Year's Eve celebrants — especially those who are young and healthy — navigating COVID-19 seems to have faded to the background of daily life.
“Some people still wear masks at some of our events, but it's nothing like it was a few years ago,” said Tony Orella, general manager of Roccapulco, who is planning a 600-person New Year's Eve celebration in the San Francisco club on Sunday. “Though cases are going back up, it's just the season.”
Like the few still masking at Orella's parties, many Bay Area residents are still looking for ways to reduce their risk of getting sick, despite venturing out. For those, Swartzberg has some advice: “If you're having a party, part of the invitation should include a statement saying, `Please do not come if you have any kind of symptoms.' ”
Swartzberg understands that most people don't want to wear a mask at a party, but “if it's possible, keep the windows open so you have some cross ventilation,” he said. And put those air filters to use, even outside of fire season. Chin-hong also said that anyone who hadn't been boosted or gotten COVID-19 directly this fall should get vaccinated with the latest shot as soon as possible.
“You've got this onetwo-three punch of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's and people coming together with lots of things flying around,” Chin-hong said. “(Rates) will likely go up again after New Year's.”
On top of that, acute illness isn't the only thing to worry about, Swartzberg said. For some people, the lingering effects of an infection can be debilitating.
“Be sure to throw into your calculus the issue of LONG-COVID,” he said.