Local, state and national leaders continue to map out efforts and strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic, though this comes with some warning about a potential fourth wave of the coronavirus.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that the state's color coded system will be abandoned on June 15, a date he expects to fully reopen the California economy.
Is the governor being overly optimistic or has the state turned a corner with the pandemic?
"I think the state is doing quite well, in some ways the best in the country. The vaccines are rolling out beautifully after a very bumpy start," explained Dr. Bob Wachter, Professor and Chair of the UCSF Department of Medicine, on KCBS Radio's "The State of California."
"Cases are low, hospitalizations are low, test positivity rate is low, and if we can keep those things down for the next several weeks, I think there's every reason to believe that we'll be in good shape by May and June," he added.
Dr. Wachter credited both the vaccine distribution and reasonably restrictive public policy for California's success.
"I think people are still acting reasonably well. People still understand the pandemic is not gone and there's still virus out there," Dr. Wachter said. "At this point a lot of the success owes to the combination of vaccination and the amount of immunity we have in our population."
Gov. Newsom on Tuesday said the state has administered over 20 million vaccine doses, 4 million of which were in some of California's hardest-hit, vulnerable communities.
"That's why it's so important we just hang on for a few more weeks, and get more people vaccinated," he said. "We're reaching a point where if there's enough immunity out there…we should be able to keep the virus down and avoid a fourth wave. I think that's the likeliest outcome at this point."
However, that doesn't mean people should relax their pandemic precautions, as evidence by the recent surge in cases in Michigan.
"There are cautionary notes and Michigan is the most vivid cautionary note where cases are sky rocketing," Dr. Wachter added. "If you let your guard down a little bit too early or if the vaccines aren't rolling out fast enough and if you're unlucky, then things can go sour pretty quickly."
