By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P]
In response to the increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations due to the highly contagious Delta variant, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today issued two new public health orders.
The first, requires health care workers in California to be fully vaccinated or receive their second dose by September 30, 2021.
The order applies to general acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities - including sub-acute facilities - intermediate care facilities, acute psychiatric hospitals, adult day health care facilities, comprehensive elder care program, ambulatory surgery centers, chemical dependency recovery hospitals, and physician offices and clinics.
Also, group living health facilities, dialysis centers, hospice facilities, pediatric respite care and day health centers, and residential substance use treatment and mental health treatment facilities.
It should be noted that the order details that there will only be two exemptions for health care workers in California: religious reasons or rare medical conditions.
The new order issued by Dr. Tomas J. Aragon, director of the California Department of Public Health, explains that while workers are being vaccinated, they must undergo mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing.
"As cases and hospitalizations are on the rise due to Delta variant it is important that we protect vulnerable patients in these settings," said Dr. Aragon. "Today's action will also ensure that healthcare workers themselves are protected. Vaccines are the way to end this pandemic."
The second order requires visitors to hospitals, skilled nursing homes and facilities for the developmentally disabled to be fully vaccinated or show a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours. The order applies only to indoor visitors and is effective as of the first minute of this coming Wednesday, August 11.
Both guidelines reinforce Governor Gavin Newsom's decision to require health care workers and state employees to be vaccinated or tested weekly, issued last week.
The orders come as California, along with the rest of the nation, grapples with a surge of cases fueled by the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, which accounted for about 86 percent of cases as of July 21, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Currently, 63 percent of Californians 12 years of age and older are fully vaccinated with an additional 10 percent partially vaccinated.
California is currently experiencing the fastest increase in COVID-19 cases during the entire pandemic with 18.3 new cases per 100,000 people per day, with case rates increasing nine-fold in two months. Unvaccinated people are more likely to become infected and spread the virus, which is airborne.
Most hospitalizations and deaths today occur among unvaccinated persons.
Thanks to vaccines and measures taken since March 2020, California's health care system is currently able to address the increase in cases and hospitalizations, however, additional measures are needed to target facilities across the state to protect particularly vulnerable populations.
Hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities serve particularly vulnerable populations where COVID-19 outbreaks can have significant consequences such as hospitalization, severe illness and death.
Vaccines have been available in California from December 2020 to the present, and from January 1 through July 27, 2021, a total of 9,371 confirmed COVID-19 outbreaks and 113,196 outbreak-related cases were reported to CDPH.
The two most common settings for these outbreaks were: residential care facilities ?22.5 percent? and SNFs ?9.8 percent?
To date, there have been more than 4,000 outbreaks in residential care facilities, more than 2,000 in SNFs and more than 450 in California hospitals.
Recent outbreaks in health care settings have been attributed to unvaccinated staff members, demonstrating the risk posed by these individuals.
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