Expert: High Bay Area Vaccination Rate May Ward Off Omicron BA.2 Surge
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- While many health experts believe another coronavirus surge is just a couple of weeks away, one Bay Area epidemiologist expects the surge may look very different here compared to other parts of the country.
UCSF Epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford says with the high vaccination rates, he's hoping the Bay Area will actually continue to see numbers decline even though the Omicron subvariant is already circulating in our community.
Tests of wastewater in the South Bay have detected BA.2, mostly in Palo Alto and Gilroy.
"We see that BA.2 is likely replacing BA.1, which was the original Omicron virus that was infecting the population here," said Alexandria Böhm, a Stanford Professor of Environmental Engineering.
BA.2 is the subvariant that is responsible for the latest surge in countries like the United Kingdom and the concern is its may be a signal of what's to come for the US.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 50% of Americans have been spared from the coronavirus which means COVID has the ability to still do a lot of harm.
"We got a lot of kindling for a fire," Rutherford said. "That's why we have to have high vaccination rates, including boosters and continued vigilance to spot trends before they develop."
He hopes the Bay Area can avoid a huge surge even though the time for families to gather and travel for Spring Break is just around the corner.
This comes as the state also getting rid of mask mandates and other restrictions.
"While we can get rid off mask mandates today, it doesn't mean that we can keep it that way forever," Rutherford said.
The White House is urging Congress to approve the next round of funding for the country's COVID response. Although some local counties such as Contra Costa say as of now they are well equipped to handle the next surge, Rutherford says a funding package is critical in the future fight against COVID.
"We're going to need that money, especially if we start trending towards more expensive solutions like testing and treating with these new anti-viral drugs like Paxlovid," Rutherford said. "Those are going to be complex decisions and those are going to cost a lot of money."
