S.A. officials warn omicron surge may worsen
City and public health officials don’t know when the current surge of the COVID-19 pandemic might end — and warned Friday that it could get worse.
San Antonio’s risk level remains “severe” for a third consecutive week, and if the more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus keeps spreading at its current pace, that will shift to “critical,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.
“It’s hard to tell if we’ve yet reached our peak or when we will reach our peak” of newly diagnosed cases, the mayor said at an update on local pandemic efforts.
Hospitals here are “knocking on the door” of the highest number of COVID cases they have ever seen, said Eric Epley, executive director of the South Texas Regional Advisory Council, which coordinates resources among medical centers in the region.
City and federal officials have opened more virus testing sites, which has boosted Bexar County’s testing capacity to about 12,000 people per day. It was 7,000 people per day in December.
The percentage of people turning up positive for the virus out of all those tested in Metro Health’s service area now stands at 38.3 percent. Some other major cities in Texas are seeing positivity rates of more than 50 percent, Nirenberg said.
Public health officials pleaded for parents to vaccinate more children ages 5 to 11 to help keep schools open and fully staffed. Only 14 percent of Bexar County children in this age range have received both shots for the virus, said Dr. Junda Woo, the Metropolitan Health District’s medical director.
Friday’s remarks portrayed elected officials, Metro Health and hospitals as trying to keep up with increased demands imposed by the fast-spreading omicron strain without knowing how long the heightened stress might continue.
“I would hesitate to say that we’re coming to the end,” Woo said. “It’s just hard for us to tell . ... I’m not going to make an estimate.”
On Friday, 5,307 new cases of the virus were reported in Bexar County, along with 16 more deaths of people who contracted the illness.
A total of 1,257 patients who tested positive for the virus, including 35 children, are currently admitted at San Antonio hospitals, making up a third of all hospitalized patients.
They include 260 patients in intensive care units, with 115 on ventilators to help them breathe. About two-thirds of all patients with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.
Vaccination remains a key way for people to protect themselves against severe illness and death if they contract the virus, officials said.
“If you are eligible for a booster and you haven’t been boosted yet, go get one,” Nirenberg said. “You are not up to date if you haven’t.
“We urge everyone who has yet to get vaccinated to please make an extra effort to do so.”
So far, 88.5 percent of eligible Bexar County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 72 percent have been fully vaccinated, Metro Health director Claude Jacob said.
The youngest eligible for the vaccines — those 5 to 11 years old — have shown low rates of participation. The 35 pediatric hospitalizations for COVID-19 reported Friday “are entirely too many when you consider that this is completely preventable,” Woo said.
“Vaccination is the key to keeping our schools open, and we can do better,” she said. “By having your children vaccinated, you’re not just protecting your family. You’re helping schools stay open and fully staffed, which helps our entire community.”
Free coronavirus vaccines are available for all residents ages 5 and up at various locations across San Antonio. That includes University Health’s vaccination hub at the upper level of the Wonderland of the Americas shopping mall, which has given 8,473 shots since Jan. 3, including to 2,156 children, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said.
The Wonderland vaccine site doesn’t require appointments or registration. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
Vaccines are also being given at a drive-thru operation at the Alamodome from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays. Appointments aren’t necessary.
More COVID testing sites have opened as more people are urgently seeking to be screened for the virus. On Tuesday, the city and the Texas Division of Emergency Management opened a federal drive-thru testing site at the Alamodome in Lot C to provide another resource.
People can register for an appointment at the federal testing site by visiting Doineedacovidtest.com or by calling 1-800-6358611. Testing appointments are offered from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Those tests are free.
The city also opened six mass testing sites with the nonprofit Community Labs, while Curative is running an additional 20 testing hubs in San Antonio. A list can be found at covid19.sanantonio.gov under “testing locations.” It’s also available to those who call 311 and press option 8.
“Be careful in what you do,” Wolff warned. “You never know today where you are, who’s got COVID around you. You don’t want to pick it up.”