‘Tis the flu, COVID, RSV season. California health officials urge vaccines
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‘Tis the (respiratory virus) season
Ahead of Thanksgiving, I received a COVID-19 booster and flu shot. My reasoning was simple: I’d be gathering in-person with family and friends over the next several weeks, so I wanted to protect myself and them as best I can.
That feels especially important as autumn deepens and turns to winter — prime time for respiratory virus season.
And as Times reporter Rong-Gong Lin II wrote this week, infections of COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are all on the upswing. But health officials say infection levels aren’t as bad as they were in late 2022, he noted: “Last year at this time, children’s hospitals across California were under stress, with exceptionally high hospitalization rates related to RSV — including in Orange County, which declared a health emergency related to the virus.”
Still, the increase is renewing concerns about a “tripledemic” in the coming weeks as health officials urge Californians to get up to date on their vaccines.
Health officials are keeping an eye on the latest coronavirus subvariant, officially named BA.2.86 but nicknamed “Pirola.”
The new subvariant accounted for 8.8% of coronavirus cases over the CDC’s most recent two-week reporting period, up from 3% from the previous period.
Pirola is one reason doctors are urging more people — especially older adults — to get the latest COVID-19 vaccine. But so far, many are not. Statewide, just over a quarter of California’s seniors have received the latest vaccination. Reporting from Southern and Northern California counties shows a notable gap in vaccinated seniors.
SoCal seniors with updated COVID-19 vaccination
- L.A. County: 21%
- Orange County: 25%
- San Diego and Ventura counties: 27%
- Riverside County: 20%
- San Bernardino County: 17%
NorCal seniors with updated COVID-19 vaccination
- Santa Clara County: 36%
- San Francisco and Alameda counties: 38%
- Contra Costa and San Mateo counties: 40%
- Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties: Above 40%
“If somebody’s at risk for getting seriously ill, particularly those who are older than 65, you can’t really rely on getting the old shot last year to really carry you through this winter,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases expert at UC San Francisco, told The Times. “You really need some replenishing of the antibodies, and that’s what the new vaccine will do.”
Today’s top stories
California Gov. Gavin Newsom leaves the stage after delivering his budget proposal in Sacramento in January.
(José Luis Villegas / Associated Press)
Politics
UNLV mass shooting
Housing
Crime and courts
More big stories
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Today’s great reads
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
After a mass shooting, Monterey Park limited gun sales. But local laws alone won’t stop violence. There’s little evidence that barring retailers from certain neighborhoods or requiring them to install video cameras can significantly drive down gun violence. Only large-scale changes in the number of firearms dealers across multiple neighboring counties had a meaningful effect on local gun homicides, researchers found.
Other great reads
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For your downtime
Jessica Stenhouse, left, and Grace Turnage participate in a yoga class on the water with “YOGAqua” at Marina “Mother’s” Beach in Marina del Rey.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Going out
Staying in
And finally … a great photo
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
The Guy Fleming House at Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego.
(Willard Gleeson)
Today’s great photo is from Willard Gleeson of Glendale: The Guy Fleming House. Willard writes:
I have been visiting Torrey Pines State Reserve north of San Diego for 50 years. It’s one of the most beautiful and iconic landscapes on the coast. I thought I knew every square inch of the place until I recently took a docents tour and was led to an isolated spot in the trees and shown the Guy Fleming house, completely out of sight. It was built over 100 years ago, several years before the famous Torrey Pines Lodge, and has recently been renovated by the park’s maintenance staff.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Laura Blasey, assistant editor
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