New COVID Vaccines Approved as Cases Rise in Santa Barbara County

COVID cases have been rising all summer across Santa Barbara County, where a water polo game between Carpinteria High and the Dons in August was postponed due to the virus infecting a number of Santa Barbara players. This Tuesday, the latest mRNA COVID vaccines were approved by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). They might not have prevented the water polo outbreak, but they are widely recommended to reduce the severity of the disease, which continues to be highly contagious.

Three and a half years after the pandemic began, “95 percent of our population has some protection against COVID,” said Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons. “And that protection is coming from vaccines, from an infection we had, and perhaps from an infection we didn’t know we had.” She observed that at Cottage Hospital, where Dr. Fitzgibbons leads the infectious diseases division, they’ve had far fewer patients than at any earlier time during the pandemic.

As of September 2, the hospitals across the county had 11 COVID patients; by contrast, nearly a year ago, 17 patients in the hospitals indicated “normal” was returning. No deaths occurred over the past week; in total, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 814 persons in Santa Barbara County. Looking at wastewater, which can show the amount of virus in the community, a plateau was occurring in Santa Barbara earlier this month, a decline in Goleta, and an increase in Lompoc. For the county as a whole, the level of disease is “low,” according to the CDC.

[Click to enlarge] Santa Barbara County wastewater can show the amount of virus in the community | Credit: Courtesy

Dr. Fitzgibbons was anticipating the CDC’s announcement this Tuesday regarding the new Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which were recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older. While the vaccines were developed for the Omicron offshoot called XBB.1.5, the major subvariant circulating now is EG.5, with another called Pirola, or BA.2.86, receiving much attention for the number of mutations on its spike protein, though its number of cases is very low.

“The variants that are around right now are closely related to the one targeted, and we’re still going to get great protection from the new vaccine,” Dr. Fitzgibbons said. “The data looks really good.”

As for the precautions against COVID from the pre-vaccine days, such as masks and avoiding crowds indoors, Dr. Fitzgibbons said that they still held true, though it was much more up to the individual to decide their own level of risk based on their immune system.

Importantly, the endorsement from the CDC means the vaccine will continue to be covered by Medicare and health insurance carriers and be available from public health agencies. The earliest shipments are expected later this week. An updated version of the more traditionally produced vaccine Novavax is still under consideration by the Food and Drug Administration.