California Director of Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly began his Tuesday news conference by pointing out that he is a pediatrician.
Ghaly then went on to give some shocking statistics for a state public in the midst of a pandemic.
Among children ages 0-18, he said, “California is running at only two-thirds of the vaccination level we were at at the same point in 2019.”
On a more granular level, Ghaly said the state has seen two major drops in vaccinations this year and both are accompanied by stricter orders for stay-at-home homes in April and July.
“When we went to a stay-at-home order,” he remarked, “we saw a significant decrease in vaccinations of young people.”
“The fact that we are still very low, compared to the peak in August, is a concern,” Dr Ghaly said. “We hope to increase that number.”
Vaccinations are crucial leading up to the fall and winter flu season, he noted, and still very much in the midst of a pandemic.
“This year getting your flu vaccine is especially important,” Ghaly insisted, saying it could help prevent upper respiratory tract infections and travel to the emergency room, an institution that could be a threat to COVID infection. .
That recommendation is especially true for children.
“Unlike flu, COVID has – so far – not had such a significant impact on young people. Influenza is notorious for having a serious impact on our youngest Californians – you whites, toddlers, toddlers. ”
“Together, flu and COVID create a double risk situation,” he said. That coincidence is the nightmare that has worried many experts, including Director of Centers for Disease Control Robert Redfield.
Redfield recently said that the current pandemic coupled with the upcoming flu season could ‘make the worst case scenario, from a public health perspective we’ve ever had.’
The “Spanish” flu of 1918 was the deadliest pandemic in history. One third of the world’s population was infected. The virus killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, including an estimated 675,000 people in the United States. That was at a time when the American population (in 1917, outbreak) was 103 million.
During that pandemic, the biggest loss of life occurred in just 6 weeks between mid-November and late December. One-third of American firearms occurred during that period.
And it’s not just flu and COVID that Ghaly worries about. “When [kids] back to school, unvaccinated children perhaps [also] be vulnerable to diseases such as measles and whooping cough, ”he said.
Ghaly speculated that numbers of vaccinations among children may have dropped because, in the midst of a pandemic, “many people are afraid to go to doctors’ offices.”
But the director asked Californians to get vaccinated now before there is a growth in demand when the flu season hits.
“Many hospitals and clinics are starting to receive their sending of flu vaccines,” he said, before asking residents to get a jump on demand.
Ghaly also announced that the state had seen 4,636 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours and reported 100 new deaths.
But, “Sunday is usually our lowest reporting day,” he warned.
Ghaly also notes that, after weeks of declining numbers, “We saw a slight increase in hospitalizations related to COVID.” That number amounted to 86 more COVID cases admitted to hospital than the previous daily total.
The state is reaching out to hospital partners to see if that rise is a trend like a one-day blip, he said.
See Ghaly’s presentation below.
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