Health officials recommend getting COVID booster before the holiday season
Tonight Gov. Gavin Newsom says that he will end the COVID-19 state of emergency in February next year.
The state will then shift to its endemic policy, called the "smarter plan."
Meantime, as we head into the flu season and the holidays, health officials are stressing the importance of getting your COVID booster shot.
Although Riverside County has reported a slight uptick in COVID hospitalizations.
According to the latest state figures, the numbers have risen from 9 to 70 people. Out of those patients, 9 were in intensive care as of Saturday.
Barbara Cole, Director of Disease Control at Riverside University Health System, says it's not a cause for concern and the county will continue to monitor numbers.
Covid cases however, may spike with the upcoming winter months as we've seen in previous years.
I asked Cole if booster shots could help prevent an upcoming surge in the coming months.
"Well, we encouraged anyone five years of age and over to get that new booster. And the advantage is, it it does protect against the variant. So even though people have been vaccinated, we know that people can still get COVID," says Cole.
Cole tells me the new booster decreases the likelihood of infection and COVID related hospitalization.
The latest booster is effective against the variants which is why health professionals like Cole recommend it.
"We're seeing the BA.5 as the predominant one that we see in Riverside County. And again, there's concerns because it can be more contagious, it can affect people's ability to fight off disease.”
Booster shots are also recommended for people that are considered 'high risk.'
"Individuals whose immune system are compromised, so anyone, for instance, who is undergoing chemotherapy or things that make it hard for their body to fight off disease, the elderly can be at increased risk. People with underlying health issues, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease," says Cole.
When it comes to cold and flu season, both flu shots and COVID boosters can be administered during the same visit.
“We encourage people as well, anyone six months of age or over to get an influenza vaccine, in addition to getting their COVID Booster, and they actually can be done at the same doctor's visit or clinic visit. They just need to be administered in different sites on the body," says Cole.
Cole also shared additional preventative measures to help stop the spread, like washing your hands frequently.
"If people are ill, they should not go to work and spread it, whether it's COVID, whether it's influenza, or some other infection that they have. And we also encourage our parents, please don't send children to school sick."
