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San Mateo County is experiencing a rise in COVID-19 cases, according to wastewater data released earlier this month by the California Department of Health.
“We are seeing an increasing trend,” said Karen Pfister, a health services manager at the San Mateo County Office of Epidemiology and Evaluation.
The sewershed covering San Mateo and Foster City showed a 320% increase in the 10-day rolling average COVID concentration from May 17 to June 17, according to the most recent data.
The Silicon Valley Clean Water sewershed, which covers Redwood City and The Almanac’s coverage area, revealed a more moderate increase of 170% in the 10-day rolling average COVID concentration from May 22 to June 21.
“Generally, wastewater data is an early indicator and something like hospitalizations would follow,” said Pfister. “We have not been routinely tracking COVID-19 hospitalizations but we have a syndromic surveillance system, which looks at emergency department data for respiratory illnesses in general. The most recent report does not show an increase in that data.”
COVID-19 cases are most likely increasing in 39 states, including California, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC estimates that 32% of cases in region nine, which includes California, are due to KP.3, which is a variant that became dominant in early June. However a different variant, LB.1, has recently grown and experts expect it will become the dominant variant soon.
A preprint paper, which has not yet been peer reviewed, suggests that LB.1 is more immune-resistant than previous variants.
“At this time, I do not have plans to implement any COVID mandates,” said Dr. Kismet Baldwin-Santana, San Mateo County Health Officer.
On June 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised manufacturers to focus their vaccines on the KP.2 variant. That vaccine is expected to be released this fall from Pfizer and Moderna however Novavax, which does not use mRNA technology, may not be able to pivot in time.
“If a markedly more virulent variant occurs that results in more morbidity or mortality, the agency could consider recommending a change in vaccine composition at any time,” an FDA spokesperson told Verywell Health.
COVID-19 variants are not tracked at the local level, according to Pfister, however the county does routinely track wastewater data.
“We look at data from all of our testing partners and compile a report that is sent out to epidemiology staff, communicable disease staff and some others in health leadership,” said Pfister.
Pfister does have some advice for the public. “Some of the general things we would say, whether it is COVID or any respiratory illness, if you are sick, stay home,” she said. “It’s like anything else out there, just really try to do good hygiene like mask up if you are sick, avoid other people, stay home, social distance.
“In terms of where this will go and what this means exactly, it is hard to say at this moment because it hasn’t popped up on some of the other indicators. It’s something to keep an eye on, especially if you are someone who is traveling locally or outside of California,” she added.
Pfister also advises people to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and the flu and seek care if necessary.
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