The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency reported a 40 percent increase in COVID-19 infections amid recent confirmation that three infections in San Diego County were caused by the BA.4 variant, dubbed as “a variant of concern".
The region reported 1,579 new COVID-19 infections, the most since Feb.11. Health authorities saw a 40 percent increase as the 4,996 infections reported in the previous week jumped to 7,008 in the past week.
Officials warn these numbers are only the cases reported to county or hospital sites, and the actual number may be “considerably higher” due to at-home test kits.
Genetic analysis confirmed that three San Diego-are COVID-19 infections were due to the BA.4 variant, one of two variants that rapidly spiked infections globally.
Last week, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control called the strain “a variant of concern” as “the currently observed growth advantage for BA.4 and BA.5 is likely due to their ability to evade immune protection induced by prior infection and/or vaccination, particularly if this has waned over time”.
Both variants are descendants of the Omicron variant that caused a surge of infections last winter and spread about 12 percent more quickly than BA.2, the currently dominant subvariant.
In addition, the HHSA reported five deaths Thursday, increasing the county's cumulative totals to 775,369 infections and 5,282 deaths.
These high numbers come as two federal agencies approved booster shots for children ages 5 through 11. The COVID-19 Pfizer boosters should be given five months after receiving the final dose of the primary vaccine series
“Some parents have been anxiously waiting to give their children extra protection against COVID-19, and the shots may be finally approved,'' said Dr. Wilma J. Wooten, San Diego County Public Health Officer. “COVID-19 boosters for everyone who is eligible are easy to get because we have plenty of vaccines available in the region.''
More children have landed in hospitals due to the Omicron variants, the HHSA reported. Some infected children required hospitalization, while others developed multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). The hyper-inflammatory condition occurs 2-6 weeks after infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The county reported that 90 percent of the pediatric hospitalizations for MIS-C from Nov. 27, 2021, to May 7, 2022, occurred in not-fully-vaccinated children.
According to the CDC, symptoms of MIS-C include fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, skin rash, inflammation, and multi-organ dysfunction. Children can experience hypotension (low blood pressure) and shock in severe cases.
“MIS-C can often be so severe that children require life-saving interventions,'' Wooten said. “Parents should contact their doctor immediately if their child develops any of these symptoms. The best thing parents can do is get all the recommended doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for themselves and their children.''
Officials report that about 60 to 80 percent of the early cases of MIS-C patients required intensive care admission.
The county reported that 94 percent of San Diegans ages 5 and older are at least partially vaccinated, while 83.3 percent are fully vaccinated.
Nearly 60 percent of eligible San Diegans have received a booster shot.
The number of people hospitalized with a coronavirus infection in San Diego County increased by 14 to 134, once again surpassing Santa Clara County for the second-highest hospitalization number in the state, according to the latest state data.
Of those patients hospitalized as of Thursday, 24 were being treated in intensive care.
