Good morning, Mission, and welcome to Virus Village, your (somewhat regular) Covid-19 data dump.
A big dip in positivity rates accompanies the ongoing downward trend in average daily recorded infections and hospitalizations. R Number models show San Francisco in a range from .6 to 1.19, with an average among the highest in the state.
I got an email from the Post Office saying my free government-supplied rapid tests are about to arrive. It’s been a month since I put my order in. Not what I would call “rapid.” At least it’s “free.”
How much do those “free” rapid tests actually cost? The Biden Administration won’t say.
Although I’ve not seen any in and around the Mission, a new report says that widely-touted antiviral drugs are now showing up in pharmacies. Unfortunately not many seem to know about them or are anxious to get them. Let me know if you find any locally.
Given his focus on The Vaccine and his reluctance to push other public health initiatives to control the virus spread, it is not surprising that Biden is about as unpopular as Trump.
Does The Vaccine provide long-lasting protection against severe symptoms, hospitalizations, and death? For some of us non-experts, the studies seem all over the place. A recent study out of the UK says the protection wanes but is restored by the booster. Yes, but for how long?
As San Francisco’s Department of Public Health has steadfastly refused to report on the number of unvaxxed, vaxxed and boostered patients, we have no local data with which to compare. Thanks guys.
In a year covid has changed from a global pandemic to a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” to a “pandemic of the unboosted” to now a “pandemic of the immunocompromised.”
A new study out of UC Irvine suggests over-the-counter antihistamines may provide relief from symptoms of long covid.
Scroll down for today’s covid numbers.
The City’s vaccination campaign seems to have stalled as the numbers haven’t significantly changed in recent weeks. As of Feb. 13, DPH reports 781,597 residents have been vaccinated, more than 89 percent of all San Francisco residents have received one dose, and over 82 percent have received two. For residents 5 and older, DPH reports the figures rise above 90 percent and above 86 percent while for those 65 and older over 90 percent have received two doses. SFDPH reports that as of Feb. 13, approximately 464,877 SF residents (64 percent of all residents) have received a COVID-19 booster dose.
For information on where to get vaccinated in and around the Mission, visit our Vaccination Page.
On Feb. 10, DPH reports there were 188 covid hospitalizations, or about 21.5 covid hospitalizations per 100,000 residents (based on an 874,000 population). Today, the California Department of Public Health reports 167 covid patients in SF hospitals and 39 ICU patients. Unlike it’s counterparts in New York, Seattle — even Los Angeles — DPH cannot report how many covid patients are vaxxed and how many unvaxxed since September 1. This failure, both simple and spectacular, does not bode well for the future of public health in San Francisco.
The latest report from the federal Department of Health and Human Services shows Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital with 41 covid patients and 6 ICU beds available, while across the Mission, CPMC had 24 covid patients and 2 ICU beds available. Of 262 reported covid patients, 122 were at either SFGH or UCSF, with at least 54 ICU beds available among reporting hospitals (which does not include the Veterans Administration). The California DPH currently reports 93 ICU beds available in San Francisco. Note: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a scathing report for sustained public health crisis failures at HHS. The failures cited include “collecting and analyzing data to inform decisionmaking.”
Omicron revived SF’s standard pandemic pattern, hitting the lower socioeconomic sectors of the City the hardest. Between Dec. 11 and Feb. 9, DPH recorded 4404 new infections among Mission residents or 749 new infections per 10,000 residents. Bayview Hunters Point had the highest number of recorded new infections (4579) with a rate of 1208 new infections per 10,000 residents. Of 38 neighborhoods, 14 had rates above 700 per 10,000 residents, 13 in the east and southeast sectors of the City. Seacliff had the lowest rate with 375 new infections per 10,000 residents and Lakeshore, the only neighborhood in the City with a vaccination rate below 50 percent, had the second-lowest rate at 430 new infections per 10,000 residents.
DPH reports on Feb. 6, the 7-day average of daily new infections recorded in the City was 373 (down from a peak of 2238 on Jan. 9) or approximately 42.7 new infections per day per 100,000 residents (based on an 874,000 population). According to DPH, the 7-day average infection rate among vaccinated residents was 36.3 per 100,000 “fully vaccinated” residents and 103.9 per 100,000 unvaccinated residents. It is unclear whether “fully vaccinated” includes boosters or the infection rate among those vaccinated with 2 doses.
DPH has revised its figures for the month of January. Asians had 11,243 recorded infections or 25.5 percent of the month’s total; Latinxs had 9,574 or 21.7 percent, Whites had 8,816 or 20 percent, Blacks 2,574 or 5.8 percent, Multi-racials 437 or 1 percent, Pacific Islanders 435 or 1 percent, and Native Americans had 101 recorded infections or .2 percent of the month’s total.
Between Dec. 11 and Feb. 9, DPH recorded a 14.8 percent positivity rate among Mission residents. Bayview Hunters Point had 19.7 percent, the highest in the City. Of 38 neighborhoods 12 had positivity rates at 15 percent or above, 10 in the east and southeast sectors of the City. Seacliff had the lowest positivity rate at 7.9 percent.
Six new covid-related deaths recorded in January and seven in February have raised the local covid death toll to 68 since the beginning of the year. Probably most are related to omicron. DPH won’t say how many were vaxxed and how many unvaxxed. According to DPH “COVID-19 deaths are suspected to be associated with COVID-19. This means COVID-19 is listed as a cause of death or significant condition on the death certificate.” Using a phrase like “suspected to be associated with” indicates the difficulty in determining a covid death. The ambiguity is heightened when currently it is unknown whether or not 34.5 percent of the deaths had one or more underlying conditions. As of Feb. 9, DPH continues to report only 21 of the 761 deaths are known to have had no underlying conditions, or comorbidities.
Covid R Estimation has kept its San Francisco R Number estimate at 1.07, and lowered its California R Number to .51. The ensemble raised its average San Francisco R Number to .92 and lowered its average California R Number to .62.
For the month of January, DPH recorded 106 infections in nursing homes (“skilled nursing facilities”) and 7 covid-related deaths. There have been 3 additional deaths in February so far. In single-room occupancy hotels (SROs) DPH reports 976 January infections and 3 covid-related deaths with 0 new deaths yet reported in February. Among those unhoused, DPH reports 524 January infections and 1 new covid-related death. According to DPH, there have only been 1,792 recorded infections and 8 covid-related deaths among the unhoused since the pandemic began.
Thanks for all you do. Are you no longer maintaining the links to track the data daily?
Interesting it’s taken you so long to get your tests, I put my name in on the USPS form about the time it opened and received my tests less than a week later.
My last name is pretty early in the alphabetical sort alphabetical order maybe?
Of course, in a pandemic competent world, you would have received your tests by now, in fact ALL of us would now be receiving our 52nd or 75th weekly shipment of masks and rapid tests.