COVID is surging once again in the South Bay and public health leaders are worried the combination of holiday gatherings, low vaccination rates and people just plain tired of worrying about COVID may keep cases rising.
“If COVID is around. There’s nothing you can do to like keep yourself safe from COVID. You can wear a mask, clean your hands. I was always so good with my hygiene and I got COVID,” said San Jose resident Sollis.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department says COVID is on a constant rise with wastewater tests, showing high levels of the virus following a nationwide and statewide trend. While winter and holiday gatherings are part of the reason, county public health officials also say COVID fatigue could be a factor.
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95% of the county population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
“However, only 30% of our population has received this most recent vaccine. So, that definitely tells us we are nowhere near where we would like to be at with keeping our residents protected,” said communicable dsease controller Dr. Monika Roy.
Some people NBC Bay Area talked to Friday say they still believe what action you take should still be a personal choice, up to a point.
“It’s not like it’s not going to be there. So, as long as it is under a certain point, as long as it’s not causing the pandemic that it caused like the last time, I think we can treat it as flu,” said San Jose resident Romi.
Another change is this is the first year the COVID vaccine is commercialized as the federal government isn’t picking up as much of the public tab.
But for those who are uninsured or under-insured, there are several programs to get shots for free. For more information, visit SCCPHD.org.
