SAN DIEGO — COVID-19 cases are on the rise this summer and San Diego County is no exception. While hospitalizations are still considered low, they are steadily rising. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates hospitalizations have been increasing nationwide since the beginning of July after months of steady decline.
One San Diego-based expert said hospitalizations have increased.
“It is a slight increase," Dr. Abisola Olulade, a family medicine specialist with Sharp Rees-Stealy, said. "We do have a lot of hospital capacity, we do have a lot of ICU capacity."
Dr. Olulade said case counts typically go up during the summertime.
“People are gathering, we’re seeing record number of people traveling and so that’s of course going to lead to people in transportation hubs and that's going to increase cases. People are going to see Barbenheimer (Barbie and Oppenheimer movies) and they're going to concerts, and they're doing it without masks," Dr. Olulade said.
Another possible contributing factor, she said, is that the Omicron variant has continued to evolve, making it easier to spread.
Nationwide, a new subvariant of Omicron called Eris, or EG.5, is now the dominant strain. Experts said Eris has not hit San Diego County yet, but they do anticipate its arrival as cases rise.
Wastewater remains a useful tool to determine COVID prevalence since states are no longer required to report positive cases after the public health emergency ended in May.
Dr. Olulade said although the new subvariant can lead to more severe cases, vaccines will still protect people.
The FDA did authorize a new shot, but it hasn’t been made available yet. Dr. Olulade said don't wait for the latest vaccine.
“The best COVID vaccine is the one that’s available to you," she added.
Those not up to date with COVID vaccines or their booster shot should make an appointment soon. The latest FDA approved vaccine is expected to become available sometime in mid-to late September. People wanting extra protection or to diminish the chances of spreading the virus can find N95 masks available to order on Amazon. Prices range between $10 to $25.
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