COVID-19 stable and manageable as Sonoma County shifts to endemic phase of virus response

Sonoma County health officials said the volume of new COVID-19 cases remains stable and manageable as the county prepares to demobilize its pandemic response operations at the end of the month.

The shift in the county’s pandemic strategy comes as millions of dollars in federal and state emergency COVID-19 funding ended Thursday. The county now has roughly $5 million for pandemic response services, about a quarter of the amount available through federal and state grants for the fiscal year that ended Thursday.

Dr. Sundari Mase, the county’s health officer, said Thursday that Sonoma County continues to see widespread and steady transmission of COVID-19. But she said there has been no corresponding spike in hospitalizations and deaths.

There are currently 36 patients in local hospitals who have tested positive for COVID-19. The county has averaged about 37 COVID-19 hospitalizations throughout the month of June.

But Mase pointed out that many of these patients have “incidental COVID,” meaning they are in the hospital for something other than coronavirus illness.

“We're seeing case rates that are still 30 and 40 (per 100,000 residents) range. However, we don't really have the really negative outcomes we saw last year or the year before,” Mase said. “As a result, our hospitalizations and ICU numbers remain completely stable.”

Since the spring lull in COVID-19 infections, transmission of highly infectious omicron variants has been rampant. Local health officials say the current infection rates are likely much larger than what is being officially tallied, as many residents are probably not reporting positive results from rapid tests.

Mase and other infectious disease experts say the low levels of severe illness in the community, despite high levels of transmission, is a testament to the effectiveness of the local vaccination effort. About 83% of the county’s eligible population is fully vaccinated.

This week, health officials reported the latest COVID-19 death — a man with underlying health issues between 80 and 90 who was fully vaccinated and up to date on his vaccine regimen. His death, on June 16, brings the official pandemic death toll to 497.

Officials say that COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, as well as natural immunity from previous infection, have resulted in a much more manageable pandemic, one that hopefully is becoming endemic.

During a community briefing Wednesday, Tina Rivera, director of the county Department of Health Services, said COVID-19 “is part of our health care landscape now,” though local response will enter a new phase that focuses on providing critical resources for vulnerable communities.

“We're really blessed to have a team of skilled epidemiologists who will help us to do that moving forward,” Rivera said during the briefing. “We will expect continued cycles of mutation and spread of this virus, but we will continue to strictly monitor that. There may be times of surge, and we'll be prepared for that if we need to pivot or change.”

The county’s new strategy would move pandemic efforts from an emergency response to a long-term disease control initiative within the county’s health services department. The contracted COVID-19 workforce will decrease from 60 to 40 staff in health services.

COVID-19 testing will be incorporated within the county’s disease control unit, and community-based organizations that want to set up testing sites will be able to request rapid antigen tests through county health services.

The CURA Project, which has provided emergency financial assistance to low-income and Latino families, will move over to the county human services department. It’s unclear how much money will be available through the new partnership.

The transition will see the permanent hiring of a health equity manager within the health services department, along with the formation of a community outreach and engagement team that consists of seven bilingual health workers focused on the county’s most vulnerable communities.

“This pandemic has daylighted the inequities on marginalized communities more than any other disaster, and it's helping us to shift the way that we respond to future disasters,” Rivera said.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.