SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – As COVID-19 subvariants continue to make their way to the United States, health experts explain where the Bay Area is in the current surge.
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Dr. Joshua Salomon, Professor of Health Policy at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Senior Fellow at the Center for Health Policy in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, told KCBS Radio's "Ask An Expert" coronavirus surges have varied since the start of the pandemic.
"Prior to the omicron surge that we saw over the winter months, they tended to unfold at a slightly slower pace," he said. "The omicron surge happened very quickly, related in large part to the fact that omicron was so transmissible."
Monitoring surges and predicting the next spike has proved difficult throughout the past year, as COVID-19 at-home tests — which rarely go reported — have dominated the testing field. "Testing is down very sharply over the last couple weeks. In general, I think we're getting a much less clear view on what's going on because there's a lot more at-home testing that doesn't necessarily get reported to the health department," Salomon explained.
In the current stage of the surge that has seen case levels skyrocket in the Bay Area and throughout the county, Salomon said there's still a high amount of transmission. "That said, I think if there's some good news it's that there are signs that cases may be leveling off, which is always welcome, especially five surges into this pandemic," he said.
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