Santa Cruz County COVID rates highest in over a year. Here’s what you can do. (2024)

Even four years on from the start of the pandemic, COVID surges remain a part of everyone’s yearly routine — but with some predictability, at least. Unfortunately, the summer has become a season when one can expect higher coronavirus levels.

This year is no different. Santa Cruz County is seeing a COVID surge, paralleling a national trend. On June 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that infections are “growing or likely growing” in 39 states. That’s in part driven by a new variant, dubbed KP.3, which now makes up about 33% of new infections. It is yet another descendent of Omicron — which the current vaccine does provide protection from — that shows the same set of mutations that could make the virus more contagious.

Locally, all of the familiar metrics — transmission, hospitalizations and wastewater prevalence — have steadily increased since late spring. The current reproductive number — the number of secondary infections caused by a single original infection — is just over 1.2 as of last week, making it the highest level of transmission since at least last summer. Wastewater prevalence is slightly lower than it was in the year’s high point in January, but it is currently projected to overtake that benchmark in July.

There were 10 hospitalizations countywide through the majority of June, the highest number of hospitalizations since late February. That number dipped to six last week.

County Health Officer Dr. Lisa Hernandez said that while the prevalence certainly appears higher right now, the increase is following similar trends that have been observed in the past two summers: “We are definitely in a surge, and it’s similar to what we’ve seen before.”

A number of factors cause summer surges, said Hernandez. Holiday celebrations and vacations result in more people traveling from all over the country, booster protection begins waning, and fewer people are staying up to date on their boosters.

According to state data, just 22.6% of Santa Cruz County residents and a meager 14.7% of Californians in total received the reformulated vaccine administered last fall.

What can I do to stay protected?

Staying up to date on vaccinations remains the best protection, though very few people are doing it. While the current vaccine might not protect against infection with KP.2 and KP.3 as well as it did against the previously dominant Omicron subvariants in the XBB lineage, it will still provide good protection against severe illness, said Hernandez. Studies have also shown that vaccination provides protection against long COVID as well.

Just last week, the Food and Drug Administration advised drugmakers to update the COVID vaccine to target the KP.2 and KP.3 strains, which are expected to remain dominant through the year. Once that jab hits shelves, it is recommended that everyone receive one dose of the new vaccine through their health care provider or at a major pharmacy like Walgreens, Safeway or CVS.

Public health recommendations still separate their guidance into two groups: everyone aged 5 years and older, and people aged 65 years and older. The main difference is that only those aged 65 and older, or those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, are eligible for additional doses of last year’s vaccine before this year’s rolls out:

• Those ages 5-64 and not immunocompromised, who received an updated vaccine in fall 2023, should wait to get one dose of this year’s vaccine when it hits the shelves in the fall.

• Those ages 65 and older, or who are immunocompromised, who received an updated vaccine in fall 2023, are eligible to receive additional doses of last year’s vaccine before this year’s becomes available. It is recommended that they get the additional dose.

Anyone who did not receive last fall’s vaccine should get one as soon as possible.

The vaccine is covered for most people with private insurance or Medicare. However, uninsured people may be subject to a fee, as the government is no longer paying for the shots as it did in the first few years of vaccine rollouts.

And other than practicing good hand hygiene and masking if one sees fit, Hernandez said that people should be sure to stay home if at all sick — something she thinks many might be slacking on.

The official CDC guidelines say that you can resume normal activities once your symptoms are improving, and if you’ve been fever-free without the help of fever-reducing medications for at least 24 hours. However, the CDC also recommends taking extra precautions — masking, social distancing and cleaning high-touch surfaces — for five days after resuming activities.

“I think that’s still a big thing that we’re seeing,” Hernandez said. “Folks are forgetting the impact of COVID and how contagious it is. It’s out there, but people may not think of the effects because it’s Year 4.”

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