COVID-19 testing capacity will expand across the state in the coming weeks as public health officials in an effort to make it easier to access both testing and prescription treatments, state health officials said.
The California Department of Public Health and OptumServe Federal Health Services plan to launch 146 “test and treat” sites that will allow those who test positive to consult with a health care expert and receive a prescription for antiviral medication like Paxlovid or molnupiravir, if necessary.
State officials said the test and treat sites will improve health care access for the state’s uninsured residents and for those who live in areas that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
“Our goal is to help Californians recover if they get COVID-19 and ensure high-risk patients have access to treatments that can keep them out of the hospital,” CDPH Director and state Public Health Officer Dr. Tomas Aragon said.
State officials have urged residents in recent weeks to test more often for the virus as COVID cases have increased statewide, largely due to the omicron subvariant BA.2, which health experts have said is even more contagious than the original omicron variant that pushed cases to record highs during the state’s winter surge.
Officials have also urged residents who completed their initial vaccination series at least five months ago to get a booster vaccine dose to bolster their immune response to the virus.
Those who are 50 and older, immunocompromised or who initially received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine are also eligible for a second booster dose.
“Vaccines have saved tens of thousands of lives in California, and with COVID-19 still prevalent, we can’t afford to let our guard down,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, who received his second booster Wednesday at a clinic in Bakersfield. “The best protection against serious illness and hospitalization is getting vaccinated and boosted.”
According to a study published last month in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, COVID vaccinations prevented an estimated 1.5 million cases, 72,000 hospitalizations and 19,000 deaths through mid-October 2021.
According to state data, unvaccinated residents have been nearly 5 times more likely to contract the virus than those who are vaccinated and boosted, 6.5 times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly 8 times more likely to die.
Here we go again! Hold on to your seat.
Boost up and mask up like good little followers.
Hide in your closet lights out mask on.
I know that will work because Gavin told us so.
$97Bil. Surplus?
Nope. I’m unvaccinated and staying that way.
The covid rate always goes up at election time. Nothing to fear, but fear itself..
Wash your hands and have a good day.
The data used in the JAMA report is through mid-October 2021…before the Omicron surge. The efficacy of these boosters is negligible, according to this article published yesterday:
http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=150847&sid=2
“To that end, in order to make sound policy decisions, data will need to be generated on the performance of current and variant-specific candidate Covid-19 vaccines, including the VE, immunogenicity and safety of an additional booster dose over time and by disease outcome and priority use groups. More research is needed on the breadth, magnitude, and durability of humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to variants. Also needed is evidence to address other gaps in the evidence regarding the need for additional booster doses, which includes the duration of VE of inactivated, subunit and viral vectored vaccines over time and by disease outcome. Finally, an understanding of the vaccine correlates of protection and correlates of durability of protection in persons with and without previous Covid-19 infection would assist policy makers in creating sound programmatic decisions.”
the midterm variant rearing its ugly head.
There have been 33 cases in my workplace of 50 employees. 32 of them jabbed and boosted (2 of them have caught it twice as well), the only one who wasn’t was in August of 2020 before the jab was available.
Well said. The midterm variant has become quite predictable.
How about “no.”
Perfect excuse to close the polls. “Vote by mail. This last election was the most secure in our history!”(tm)
Lol, the two biggest Triple Vaxxed Mockers…..Steven Colbert & Jimmy Kimmel have been ‘covid’ positive how many times now????
What difference does it make how many people get covid if the hospitalization and death rate is nominal? Covid is getting weaker and weaker. it’s getting to be like a cold. This is purely political. The most alarming is the fact that so many people keep falling for it.
Boosters for everyone…..And it’s ALL Free!!! Life Gives Back!!!!!
Seriously?!?
The truly scary thing is that there are still many, many people that still believe this is all merely about public health.
At this point, politicians driving under the influence are more dangerous than the virus from Xi Jinping!
The experiment continues, and the rats will continue to line up for the cheese.