SoCal Experts Rue Steps Not Taken To Prevent 'Worst Variant Yet'

LOS ANGELES, CA — With COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths spiking in Southern California due to the newest COVID-19 omicron variants, some experts are saying it's a little too late for warnings.

"It’s well past the time when the warning could have been put out there,” said Dr. Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, who has dubbed BA.5 "the worst variant yet."

The highly transmissible BA.5 variant now accounts for 65 percent of cases with its cousin BA.4 contributing another 16 percent. The variants have shown a remarkable ability to sidestep defenses from previous of infection and vaccination.

The two contagious mutants have been running amok globally for weeks, experts said. Yet Californians have resumed summer gatherings and travel. They've tossed masks aside and ignored booster shots. Courts have also blocked federal mask and vaccine mandates, tying the hands of U.S. officials.

"There’s a lot of misinformation circulating about COVID right now, including that, at this point, it only causes mild illness," L.A. health director Barbara Ferrer said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Unfortunately, this isn’t true."

In Los Angeles County, the rolling average rate of people testing positive for the virus was 16.3 percent as of Wednesday. In neighboring Orange County that rolling average rate was 17 percent.

In California, the positivity rate has risen sharply to 16.1 percent, according to state data released Wednesday. That's up from 8.9 percent on June 7.

On Wednesday, there were 4,277 California patients hospitalized with the virus and 453 patients being treated in intensive care units, according to the state.

Los Angeles County, the nation's largest by population, is facing a return to a broad indoor mask mandate if current trends in hospital admissions continue, Ferrer told county supervisors Tuesday. On Thursday, the county slipped into the "high" COVID-19 activity category, Ferrer said. If the county remains in that range for two consecutive weeks, the mask mandate will be reinstated July 29.

"I do recognize that when we return to universal indoor masking to reduce high spread, for many this will feel like a step backwards," Ferrer said. But she stressed that requiring masks "helps us to reduce risk."

Sharon Fayette ripped off her mask the moment she stepped out of a Lyft ride in LA and groaned when informed another universal mask requirement might be coming. “Oh man, when will it end?” she wondered about the pandemic.

Fayette said she was exhausted by shifting regulations and dubious another mandate would be followed by most residents. “I just think people are over it, over all the rules,” she told the Associated Press.

In San Diego, the number of people hospitalized with a coronavirus infection in San Diego County is approaching 400, increasing by 25 people over the previous day's total, according to the latest state data released Wednesday.

"Due to the increased level of community transmission, including re-infections, we strongly recommend masking, especially in crowded spaces or around family, friends and colleagues who may be more vulnerable to COVID-19," said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, county deputy public health officer. "Our best bet in preventing hospitalizations and deaths is to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters, and isolating from others when sick."

Coronavirus is not killing nearly as many as it was last fall and winter, and experts do not expect death to reach those levels again anytime soon. But hundreds of daily deaths for a summertime respiratory illness would normally be jaw-dropping, said Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine. He noted that in Orange County, California, 46 people died of COVID-19 in June.

"That would be all hands on deck," Noymer said. "People would be like, 'There’s this crazy new flu that’s killing people in June.'"

Experts say precautions are not being taken anymore. Vaccinations, including booster shots for those eligible, lower the risk of hospitalization and death — even against the latest variants. But less than half of all eligible U.S. adults have gotten a single booster shot, and only about 1 in 4 Americans age 50 and older who are eligible for a second booster have received one.

In Los Angeles County, masks are already mandated in some indoor spaces — healthcare facilities, transit hubs, on transit vehicles, airports, correctional facilities and shelters.

A new universal mandate would spread the requirement to all indoor public spaces, including shared office spaces, manufacturing facilities, retail stores, indoor events, indoor restaurants and bars and schools.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger urged Ferrer and health officials to conduct outreach to local businesses to discuss the impacts they could face, "especially when surrounding counties are not considering" a mandate.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl again forcefully backed the idea of requiring masks, saying she has "no patience" for people who won't wear them.

"People are just not wearing them when they're not mandated," Kuehl said.

Nick Barragan has made a habit of keeping his mask on since his job in the Hollywood film industry has long required it. He said he won't be fazed if the county that's home to Tinseltown soon becomes the first major population center this summer to reinstate rules requiring face coverings indoors because of another spike in coronavirus cases.

"I feel fine about it because I’ve worn one pretty much constantly for the last few years. It’s become a habit," Barragan told the Associated Press, masked up while out running errands Wednesday.

Noymer said if he were in charge of the nation's COVID response he would level with the American people in an effort to get their attention in this third year of the pandemic. He would tell Americans to take it seriously, mask indoors and “until we get better vaccines, there’s going to be a new normal of a disease that kills over 100,000 Americans a year and impacts life expectancy.”

That message probably wouldn’t fly for political reasons, Noymer acknowledged.

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.