Editorial: We want to be done with COVID-19, but it isn’t done with us

This is not the time to let down our guard, even if the emergency phase of the pandemic is over.

As much as the Bay Area would like to be done with COVID-19, the virus isn’t done with us.

Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody announced Wednesday that the county will close its COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites by the end of February. On Monday, the Biden administration said it plans to let the coronavirus public health emergency expire in May.

Those decisions make sense. The emergency phase of the pandemic is over. But this is no time to let down our guard, as much as Bay Area residents would like to put away their masks for good and go back to business as usual.

COVID-19 cases have significantly decreased since the worst days of the virus. But 40,000 Americans are still contracting the virus, and 500 Americans are dying from COVID-19 every day, or roughly 182,500 a year. The coronavirus is still the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, behind only heart disease, cancer and accidents. COVID-19 is much more contagious and three times more deadly than the flu and more deadly than such notable killers as stroke, Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

The end of the emergency phase merely means that instead of public health leaders deciding and setting policies for everyone to follow, every individual now has to do their own cost-benefit analysis and decide how they should act, with guidance from those public health leaders.

Some things shouldn’t change. Every Bay Area resident should make sure they are up to date on their vaccines and the most recent booster shots available. It not only protects individuals from the threat of COVID-19 and the potential devastating impacts of long COVID, but it also helps protect those who are at the highest risk of contracting the virus. Sadly, that’s not happening in the Bay Area. More than 90% of Bay Area residents have been fully vaccinated, meaning they have completed their primary series of shots. But only 32% of Santa Clara County residents, for example, have had their updated (Bivalent) booster shots, increasing the potential for contracting the latest version of the virus. The vaccines and booster shots will no longer be free after the federal emergency order ends in May. Pfizer and Moderna have indicated vaccines will likely cost between $82-$130 per dose.

Equally important, Bay Area residents should continue to mask, especially at crowded indoor facilities. Santa Clara County wastewater data shows the risk of infection, while decreased from a year ago, is still in the “medium” range, meaning that COVID-19 is still out there and a risk for residents. The latest data shows that an average of 144 people in the county are contracting COVID-19 every day, which equates to 1,000 cases a week or more than 50,000 a year. Alameda and Contra Costa counties are showing similar numbers, with an average of 132 new cases in Alameda County and 118 new cases in Contra Costa County each day over the last seven days.

As the numbers have dropped from the last year, greater numbers of people are abandoning masks altogether, increasing the social pressure to follow suit. Cody said that is a mistake, especially so in crowded indoor facilities such as airports and theaters.

Scientists agree that COVID-19 is going to be with us for years to come. What we don’t know is what direction it will take in the weeks and months ahead. Taking reasonable precautions to stay safe while we continue to learn more about the virus is the prudent course of action.