Gov. Gavin Newsom, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and other leaders rolled up their sleeves Wednesday for extra COVID-19 vaccine shots as they called for eligible Californians to get boosters and made plans to inoculate young kids as early as next week, hoping to keep the virus in check over the coming holidays.
Citing concerns about another possible winter surge of infections even with California’s high vaccination rates and cautionary measures such as requiring face masks in schools, Newsom and others urged people to get the vaccine or a booster and get their kids the shots when they become available.
“We’re not just here to promote boosters in the abstract,” Newsom said after Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly gave him a booster during a visit to Asian Health Services in Oakland. “We’re here to promote caution.”
Since Newsom received the Johnson & Johnson shot during his first go-around, he was eligible for a booster regardless of his age or other conditions.
Newsom noted that although new case totals and the percentages of positive tests for COVID-19 are lower than they were this time last year, things can change quickly once the weather cools and people gather indoors with family and friends to celebrate the upcoming holidays.
California currently has about 4,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, close to the 6,000 daily cases about a year ago, even though 61% of the state’s residents are now fully vaccinated. The percentage of positive tests in the state, 2.2%, is a bit less than the 3.3% a year ago. But it’s also up slightly from 1.9% a few days ago.
And last year, things got bad fast as the holidays neared, Newsom noted. The 6,000 daily new cases in late October swelled to 18,000 daily cases a month later around Thanksgiving. By Christmas eve, it leaped to 54,000 daily cases. Test positivity jumped from 3.3% to 6.2% and then 11.9%.
“We have been following this data very, very closely. And we had the experience we had last year, and I want folks to know — it’s the last thing I want to communicate — we all want to be past this pandemic,” Newsom said. “But we know the ticket out of this pandemic is getting these booster shots and getting the unvaccinated vaccinated.
“And we still have more work to do.”
Federal regulators last week authorized booster shots for those already vaccinated. Those who had the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least six months ago can get a booster if they are 65 or older or at high risk due to health conditions, occupational or residential exposure. Those 18 and older who had Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine at least two months ago also may get a booster. Federal regulators said they are free to mix brands.
Newsom, who had the J&J shot in April, this time got the Moderna’s booster, which unlike the others is half the original dose. Ghaly and state epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said they too originally had J&J and chose a Moderna booster.
But they insisted that doesn’t mean mixing is better or that the J&J shots are bad.
“I’m choosing not to get J&J today, not because I had any problems with J&J., in fact, it went beautifully, but to make the point about the opportunity to mix and match,” Newsom said.
“I talked to my doctor,” Newsom said, gesturing toward Ghaly. “He said, ‘Well, I had Moderna,’ so I said, ‘perfect.’ But you know, it could have been Pfizer.”
Ghaly said “mixing and matching is something that we do commonly in vaccines.” He said the J&J, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines “work a little bit differently” and that some experts think it’s better to “mix up the modalities, really challenge the immune system.” Others, he said, had a good experience with one brand and feel more comfortable sticking to it.
Schaaf and Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, said they both originally got Pfizer shots at the Oakland Coliseum mass vaccination site. Schaaf chose another Pfizer for a booster Wednesday, and Bonta went with Moderna.
“Now I feel safer,” said Schaaf, who said she’s an “emergency responder” as a mayor whose work entails a lot of public contact, meeting one of the eligibility conditions for that booster. Bonta said she got a booster because “I live with people who are elderly, I have children and am around children all the time who are under 12 years old” and vulnerable to the disease until they are eligible for the vaccine.
Pan said the state is preparing to make Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5-11, which is a third of the adult dose and reformulated to require less frigid storage, available once federal regulators authorize it “as soon as end of next week — just in time for parents to get their kids vaccinated in time for the holidays.”
Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan said the county is focusing its booster efforts “on the elderly” and “on those with underlying conditions.” The county also is “getting ready for vaccinating the 5- to 11-year-olds, which we expect to start maybe in about 10 days to two weeks,” by “partnering with seven school districts.”
Contra Costa County is “reaching out to local schools in hard-hit areas to see if we can host clinics at their sites to offer vaccine to students,” spokesman Will Harper said, adding that “we will have adequate supply of the pediatric version of the Pfizer vaccine for our county-run clinics.”
Santa Clara County expects to get 55,000 doses for kids by Wednesday or Thursday of next week, Dr. Marty Fenstersheib said. Of that, 11,000 doses will be sent to retail pharmacies, and the other 44,000 will most likely be sent to schools. The county is working with schools right now to set up vaccination sites.
The initial order is enough to cover about a third of the eligible kids, but additional doses will be available in about a week, Fenstersheib said. Case rates in the county have been “flattening out” after declining since the summer.
“We hope it is not the beginning of a surge,” he said, “but things are stable right now.”
Staff Writer Gabriel Greschler contributed to this report.
Source: www.mercurynews.com