Boosters Keeping San Diegans Out of Hospitals
Recently released research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that COVID-19 vaccine boosters are effective at preventing severe illness and hospitalizations.
Despite that, only 1,021,730 or 49.9% of San Diegans who are fully vaccinated have received a booster, according to the County Health and Human Services Agency. That means 1,026,439 are due for a booster. Boosters are currently available for everyone 12 years and older.
“While we’re seeing more breakthrough infections due to the COVID-19 omicron variant, research has shown that significantly fewer people who have received their booster are getting seriously ill and ending up in the hospital,” said Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer.
Of the 996 hospitalizations reported in the 30-day period Dec. 14, 2021 through Jan. 12, 2022, a total of 91 (9.1%) San Diegans who were boosted ended up in the hospital.
“San Diegans should get a booster immediately, if they are eligible,” Wooten said.
The region has plenty of COVID-19 vaccines and booster doses. The county has more than 400 vaccination sites including pharmacies, medical providers, clinics, and County locations. You can also make an appointment or find a site near you by calling (833) 422-4255 or visiting the MyTurn or coronavirus-sd.com websites.
Vaccination Progress:
- Doses administered: Close to 6.58 million.
- Received at least one shot: Over 2.85 million or 90.8% of San Diegans age 5 and older are at least partially vaccinated.
- Fully vaccinated: More than 2.51 million or 79.9%.
- Boosters administered: 1,021,730 or 49.9% of 2,048,169 eligible San Diegans.
- More vaccination information can be found at coronavirus-sd.com/vaccine.
Deaths:
- 69 new deaths were reported since the last report on Jan. 19, 2022. The region’s total is 4,622.
- 46 men and 23 women between Dec. 29, 2021 and Jan. 20, 2022.
- 31 were age 80 or older, 14 were in their 70s, 18 were in their 60s, three in their 50s, two were in their 40s and one was in their 30s.
- 26 of the people who died was fully vaccinated and 43 were not fully vaccinated.
- 59 had underlying medical conditions, two did not and eight had medical history pending.
Cases, Hospitalizations, Case Rates and Testing:
- 6,108 COVID-19 cases were reported to the County on Jan. 25, 2022. The region’s total is now 675,250.
- 60,548 cases were reported last week (Jan. 19 through Jan. 25, 2022) compared to 69,151 COVID-19 infections identified the previous week (Jan. 12 through Jan. 18, 2022).
- San Diego County’s case rate per 100,000 residents is 185.1 for people fully vaccinated and boosted, 336.4 for fully vaccinated people and 504.0 for not fully vaccinated San Diegans.
- 25,426 tests were reported to the County on Jan. 23, 2022, and the percentage of new positive cases was 21.6%.
- The 14-day rolling percentage of positive cases among tests is 24.7%.
Community Setting Outbreaks:
- 57 new community outbreaks were confirmed in the past seven days (Jan. 19, 2022 through Jan. 25, 2022): 23 in TK-12th grade school settings, 12 in daycare/preschool/childcare settings, five in government settings, four in business settings, three in restaurant/bar settings, three in emergency services settings, two in community-based organization settings, two in retail settings, two in health care settings and one in a faith-based setting.
- The community outbreaks trigger is more than seven in a 7-day period.
More Information:
Data updates to the County’s coronavirus-sd.com website are published Monday through Friday around 5 p.m., with the exception of holidays.