(Stockton) - San Joaquin County Public Health Officer Dr. Maggie Park told the Board of Supervisors yesterday that even though County COVID-19 case rates, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions are still high, they appear to be on the decline. She noted that COVID-19 case rates are starting to decrease from 237 to 198.8 cases per 100,000 since January 24, 2021.

San Joaquin County COVID-19 latest statistics as of January 31, 2022:

• 155,165 total COVID-19 cases; 1,983 deaths; 284 people hospitalized; 75 COVID-19 positive people in ICU with 50 of those patients on ventilators.
• To date, 1,127,574 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to San Joaquin residents.
• 61.5% of San Joaquin County’s total population are fully vaccinated and 12.4% are partially vaccinated for COVID-19.
• County hospital ICU’s are over 130% full, with 58% of hospital ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.

To view weekly updates of the County’s COVID-19 statistics, visit: http://www.sjcphs.org/Disease/Epidemiology.aspx

“We’ve been through a significant surge in Omicron cases, so it’s good news that our case rates seem to be peaking and on their way down,” said San Joaquin County Public Health Officer, Dr. Maggie Park. “However, we are still at 198.8 cases per 100,000 which is astoundingly high, so we urge residents to be on their guard because these numbers are still incredibly alarming.”

Dr. Park reviewed the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots and their impact on case rates, hospitalizations and deaths. She said that prediction data from multiple sources including Bayesiant revealed that death rates were cut in half due to vaccinations. Dr. Park also noted that many prediction models also show that the Omicron surge appears to be on the decline in the San Joaquin Valley area and that case rates and hospitalizations will begin to decline by mid-February but deaths will continue to increase before they peak over the next several weeks.

Dr. Park also gave the Board an update on the Healthy Places Index Quartiles and the vaccination status of people who are in the lower quartile of uninsured, less healthy residents vs. higher quartile residents who generally have health insurance and are healthier. She said while 81.2 percent of people in the healthier quartile have been fully vaccinated, the number decreased to 57.8 percent of people in the lower quartile who have been fully vaccinated. Dr. Park applauded the County’s community-based organizations for their efforts to get lower quartile residents vaccinated so that vaccination rates among all health quartiles reaches at least 75 percent.

Dr. Park said the County and its partners continue to provide testing and vaccinations communitywide. However, due to the lack of vaccine demand, she told the Board that the Robert Cabral Agricultural Center will soon be closing down its drive-through vaccine lane by February 11, 2022. She announced that Delta College in Mountain House will begin providing PCR tests on Mondays and Fridays and that hours of operation will be released soon. Residents are encouraged to check SJReady.org or www.MyTurn.ca.gov to find testing and vaccine locations.

Supervisor Chuck Winn, Chair of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, responded to Dr. Park’s presentation stating, “The Board is pleased to see that the current Omicron surge is finally decreasing. While the case rates and hospitalizations remain high, we are finally seeing signs of relief. We want to thank all of our partners for their efforts to ensure the majority of eligible residents are fully vaccinated and that the community is getting the information, testing and treatments needed to finally overcome this virus.”

Consent Items

• Recertification of AB 361 teleconferencing requirements
• Accept funding award of $560,920 From the California Department of Public Health for detection and mitigation of COVID-19 in confinement facilities.

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