Bay Area officials reported a historic low number of COVID-19 infections due to its high rate of vaccinations, resulting in a massive reduction in the surge of patients coming into hospitals in the region.
Local ICU admissions due to coronavirus in Bay Area hospitals are at an all-time low. There were 55 ICU patients with COVID-19 recorded on May 14, which tied together to the number recorded last year on May 29, 2020.
Hospitalization Rates
On May 13, Bay Area hospitalizations totaled 234, which came close to June 18, 2020, where officials saw only 220. However, the recent drop in hospitalizations is a far cry from the winter season where patients flooded local hospitals. Many establishments had nearly 0% ICU rooms.
The Bay Area once went below 1% ICU availability, recorded a massive 2,210 COVID-19 hospitalizations on January 7 and 539 ICU admissions the next day.
“It is so gratifying and comforting to see this drop in hospitalizations. The drop in hospitalizations is clearly related to the dramatic decline in infections with SARS CoV-2 here in the Bay Area. And this is primarily attributable to these marvelous vaccines,” UC Berkeley infectious disease expert, John Swartzberg said.
UCSF’s Dr. Peter Chin-Hong two factors contributed to the low hospitalization rates in the Bay Area, including high rates of vaccinations on vulnerable populations and natural immunity from the winter highs, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
“Together, this created a force field that kept even the variants at bay, scaring them away from the Bay Area and the state. This could not be achieved without the stalwarts of alignment of local politics and public health, a fierce commitment in the Bay Area to eliminating disparities and a population with a general trust in science and in health care,” Chin-Hong said.
