San Joaquin County sees rise in COVID test positivity rate

Jul. 1—In April, San Joaquin County health officials said the latest surge in COVID-19 cases could last through June.

Now, with the onset of the BA.4 and BA.5 variants across the nation, it looks as if the virus' fifth wave could last even longer in the area.

According to San Joaquin County Public Health Services' COVID-19 dashboard, the county's test positivity rate has climbed to 14.5%.

When Dr. Maggie Park, the county's Public Health Officer presented her latest report to the board of supervisors on June 22, there had been 178,083 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and the county's test positivity rate was 12.3%. Total cases have now reached 180,469. While cases and test positivity have increased over the last week, case rates and deaths from the virus have seemed to level off. During last week's supervisors meeting, Park said the BA.4 and BA.5 variants were on the rise. Like previous subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5 are more transmissible than their predecessors.

However, Dr. Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, reported this week that BA.5 is "the worst version of the virus that we've seen."

As of Thursday, the BA.5 variant accounts for 36.6% of COVID-19 cases nationwide. Topol said that it would likely be the most dominant strain in the country by early July, which is just a week away.

"We do have confirmed cases of BA.4 and BA.5 in the county," she said. "But it's difficult to have an exact count because only a small percentage of COVID cases get sequenced for variants, and it takes several weeks for us to get these results."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a map of variant proportions, which now shows that B2.12.1 makes up 39.8% of cases in the Southwestern United States region of which the county is included, she said.

In addition, BA.5 accounts for 36.4%, BA.4 makes up 16.8%, and BA.2 is 7% of cases.

"We don't know for sure if BA.4 and BA.5 are very different in severity from previous Omicron variants, but we do know that they have a growth advantage," Park said. "Overall, the state is seeing decreased testing, increased test positivity, and stable case rates, which suggests increasing transmission. This increased transmission, along with waning immunity levels, may be why we are seeing an uptick in hospitalizations."

During last week's supervisors meeting, Park said the BA.4 and BA.5 variants were on the rise. Like previous subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5 are more transmissible than their predecessors.

However, Dr. Eric Topol, founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, reported this week that BA.5 is "the worst version of the virus that we've seen."

As of Thursday, the BA.5 variant accounts for 36.6% of COVID-19 cases nationwide. Topol said that it would likely be the most dominant strain in the country by early July.

The county's new COVID-19 case rate as of Wednesday was 31.4 per 100,000, a slight dip from the 33 per 100,000 reported last week.

Five deaths from the virus have been reported since June 22, bringing the county's total to 2,252. Hospitalizations have also remained stagnant, as 46 were reported last week. There were 45 patients being treated in the county's seven hospitals as of Thursday.

There have been 19,046 cases and 302 deaths in Lodi, with 257 new cases and one new death reported since June 22.

The 95240 ZIP code shared by Lodi and Lockeford has seen the fourth-highest number of cases since the pandemic began, as 11,351 have been reported so far. There have been 184 deaths in that ZIP code as well.

In Lodi's 95242 ZIP code, there have been 6,013 cases and 94 deaths.

The 95220 ZIP code that includes Acampo has seen 1,361 cases and 19 deaths, and the 95227 ZIP code that includes Clements has had 142 cases and one death.

Lockeford's 95237 ZIP code has had 742 cases and seven deaths, and Woodbridge's 95258 ZIP code has had 923 cases and 13 deaths.

In the 95686 ZIP code that includes Thornton, there have been 218 cases and four deaths.

County public health said 473,393 residents have been fully vaccinated, for 65.2% of the population. Partial vaccinations and vaccinations by jurisdiction are not yet available on the department's COVID-19 dashboard.

Sacramento County Public Health reported 314,159 cases and 3,255 deaths as of Thursday, with 7,049 cases reported in Galt. There have been 79 deaths from COVID-19 in Galt as well.

Nearly 1.05 million residents in Sacramento County 66.7% — are fully vaccinated and more than 1.06 million — 71.7% — are partially vaccinated. Some 688,937 residents have received at least one booster shot.

In addition, 16,255 Galt residents, or 63% of the population, are fully vaccinated. Sacramento County Public Health does not provide partial vaccination information for each city or jurisdiction.

___

(c)2022 the Lodi News-Sentinel (Lodi, Calif.)

Visit the Lodi News-Sentinel (Lodi, Calif.) at www.lodinews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.