After a summer spike, the COVID-19 case count is coming down in California’s Orange County. At the same time, new CDPH guidance indicates that vaccinated people have less chance of developing severe coronavirus cases and spreading this virus.
On August 30, 2021, the OC Health Care Agency (OCHCA) reported over 1,500 new cases of coronavirus disease, with 18 more deaths related to the pandemic. It is worth noting that Orange County’s COVID-19 case count for the aforementioned date includes the weekend stats. Nevertheless, health officials keep pointing to coronavirus disease-related hospitalizations as a sign of the presence of the virus in the community.
The OCHCA’s dashboard for COVID-19 mentioned 546 patients, including 139 requiring treatment procedures in the intensive care unit. With only marginal drops in the case count over the last week, OC has more ICU and hospital capacity now as compared to last August.
On the penultimate day of August 2020, up to 317 individuals were hospitalized here, with 98 in the ICU. There may be a ray of hope that the situation will improve soon.
Earlier this August, the OCHCA made an announcement supporting the updated recommendations of the California Department of Health for people with full vaccinations.
In the takeaways of its revised recommendations, the Department said that it would investigate how long the vaccine products would protect against coronavirus disease. At the same time, it stated that people with full vaccinations may start doing the activities they used to do before the pandemic again.
Further, it pointed to research suggesting that vaccinated human beings have less chance of developing asymptomatic coronavirus disease and spreading the virus. The takeaways include public face mask use-related recommendations. Nevertheless, the latest guidance suggests that one who is fully vaccinated could skip quarantine if there is confirmed or suspected contact with coronavirus and if they are asymptomatic.
In a recent press release, OCHCA Director Clayton Chau sounded optimistic in stating that even though hospitalizations keep remaining high, the summertime wave would slow down. At the same time, Chau stated that the daily coronavirus case rates in OC and hospitalization are starting to stabilize.
He echoed the requirement for more individuals to be vaccinated as well. As for Chau, preventive measures would keep being necessary for every person, irrespective of their vaccination status, until more vaccinations happen. Describing a face mask as a precautionary measure helping to lessen the transmission of coronavirus disease, Chau again emphasized the significance of using it indoors. Therefore, Chau encouraged everyone to wear it when indoors, albeit they are in a small group. Using it can protect a person as well as people around them who are perhaps immunocompromised, not qualified for vaccination, not yet fully vaccinated and in danger of developing severe disease. For your information, the word ‘immunocompromised’ refers to people with weak immune systems.
Regarding the vaccination count in OC, the Department reported on every platform that 1,989,131 people are fully vaccinated and that over 2 million have had at least a single dosage.
