On Thursday, August 26, Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Steve Rosansky released a video announcement to Chamber members and other businesses and community members providing an update on coronavirus indicators and potential new mandates.
Rosansky began with an overview of the weekly coronavirus indexes, which he said have basically flattened over the previous two weeks.
“The cases per 100,000 rose slightly from 20.2 last week to 22.2 this week,” said Rosansky. “The positivity percentage dropped slightly from 8.1 percent to 8 percent, and the health equity metric remained constant at 8.4 percent.”
“The number of people being hospitalized and the number of patients in the ICU also seem to have stabilized,” continued Rosansky. “The bright spot is that the seven day case average has peaked and has been on a downward trend for the past two weeks.”
However, said Rosansky, the big news this week was that the Pfizer vaccine has received full FDA approval for all people over the age of 16.
“Although many states are experiencing their highest number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, Orange County seems to be faring much better,” noted Rosansky. “No doubt this is due to the higher vaccination rates locally. Whether the downward trend will continue now that school has started remains to be seen.”
With the Pfizer vaccine receiving full FDA approval and Moderna about a month behind, Rosansky suggested that unvaccinated individuals who have been waiting on the sidelines should consider scheduling a vaccination now before the pharmacies and other providers begin to get busy again with vaccinated individuals who want to get a booster shot.
“Remember, statistics show that the vast majority of those who come down with severe infections and wind up in the hospital are unvaccinated,” said Rosansky. “Another reason to get vaccinated now is that more and more government agencies and private companies are announcing that employees must prove that they’re fully vaccinated or undergo weekly covid testing.”
Rosansky cited examples of new mandates, including mandatory vaccination for all active members of the military, and unvaccinated employees of Delta Airlines being charged an extra $200 a month for their health insurance to cover the cost of weekly Covid-19 testing.
Rosansky also noted an article published in a Sacramento newspaper that indicated draft legislation has been drawn up but not yet introduced that would require proof of vaccination to enter indoor public spaces like restaurants, bars, movie theatres, gyms, hotels and stadiums.
“Whether the legislation will go to a vote in this legislative session remains to be seen,” said Rosansky. “With the recall election on Sept. 14, legislators may try and push it through to avoid the risk that Governor Newsom is recalled and a new Republican governor would be unlikely to sign the legislation into law.”
Rosansky concluded his video by stating “get vaccinated, and be safe.”
For more information, visit www.NewportBeach.com.
