Summer COVID spike arrives early in Santa Cruz County – Santa Cruz Sentinel

Santa Cruz County is experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, but the summer spike has arrived a few weeks ahead of time. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune file)

SANTA CRUZ In keeping with trends from previous years, COVID-19 cases are rising alongside the summer season heat in Santa Cruz County.

In fact, according to local health officials, the virus appears to be spiking even a little ahead of schedule.

According to Santa Cruz County Health Officer Lisa Hernandez, local data indicates that we are seeing a rise again and were projected to see that continue when were looking at the wastewater modeling in particular.

It seems like this might be a little earlier than what we saw last year, she added.

Though the early rise came as a surprise, the downstream impacts have not. Hernandez said the average number of patients in the county hospitalized with COVID is currently around five but has topped out at 10 in recent weeks. These figures are concerning, according to Hernandez, although not the worst weve seen, but definitely its trending up.

The number of COVID-related deaths across the county has also persisted, with a total of 20 since the beginning of the year. A spokesperson with the countys public health division said information such as age, gender and location for the decedents wasnt readily available.

Every death is a concern and a loss to the community and to the family, said Hernandez. Were not seeing alarming numbers of deaths like we had seen in the past and wed see less if people got vaccinated. Thats really helpful.

Hernandez said factors responsible for the recent uptick in cases are likely the same as previous spikes people are mixing indoors more because of graduations, celebrations and hot weather. That, plus new variants continue to crop up.

The ever-evolving virus churned out JN.1, derived from the omicron subvariant according to Hernandez, and it became dominant last winter. Most recently, JN.1 produced a new subtype of its own known as KP.2. Similar to previous variants, JN.1 and KP.2 have evolved to evade immunity and cases have risen as a result.

The COVID landscape is also changing as national health officials are readying themselves to update the vaccines recipe in time for a fall rollout. But the virus is moving so fast that it has experts debating which strain would be most efficient to target.

Advisers with the Food and Drug Administration decided earlier this month that the fall vaccine update should target the JN.1 lineage, or family, as opposed to attacking KP.2 directly, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Having a vaccine thats the trunk of the tree rather than the branches makes sense to me, Dr. Melinda Wharton from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Amid a dramatic increase of COVID cases last summer, particularly within the countys nursing home facilities, Hernandez issued an order that required all people, including staff and visitors, to wear a face mask while indoors at skilled nursing facilities across the county.

Thats not something were considering at this point, Hernandez recently told the Sentinel. However, were always monitoring the community, especially in settings where were worried about the most vulnerable.

Last falls COVID vaccine targeted a completely different section of the coronavirus family tree, and CDC data shows only about 22.5% of adults and 14% of children received it. But even though public concern about COVID-19 has waned, it remains deadlier than the flu, according to a recent analysis of Veterans Affairs hospitalizations this past winter.

The state experienced 3,559 COVID-19-coded deaths from Oct. 1 last year to June 8 this year, according to the California Department of Public Health. Influenza caused 656 deaths statewide during that same period.

Hernandez stressed that the countys vaccine uptake has room to grow. According to statistics from the state, about 62,000 county residents, or 22.6%, are up to date with their COVID vaccination compared to 14.7% statewide. Those 65 and older are far outpacing all other age demographics across the county, with 26,963 having received a recent dose or more than 52% of the total population.

Hernandez recommended that those who are eligible for a COVID vaccination especially community members 65 years and older or immunocompromised but havent yet received one should get it as soon as possible, as those individuals are likely to still have enough of a gap to get the updated dose in the fall.

If you get the vaccine now, in four months when the new formulation is available you can get that one, said Hernandez.

Aside from vaccine protection, Hernandez recommended a return to the health care hygiene basics that she, anecdotally, has noticed local residents straying from a bit in recent weeks. This includes a recommendation that residents mask up or stay home if theyre not feeling well.

Even when I go shopping, Ive seen less and less of that in the community, said Hernandez. We dont want to forget the importance of staying home when youre sick, masking if youre ill or not feeling well and getting vaccinated.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Summer COVID spike arrives early in Santa Cruz County - Santa Cruz Sentinel