Update on Oct. 22: The county dashboard dropped Piedmont’s cumulative cases by one, so the total now stands at 276, not 277 as noted earlier this week. The dashboard notes that counts from a particular date in the past may change as the state updates its database.
According to the Alameda County COVID-19 data dashboard, Piedmont cases bumped up by three since last Tuesday, now standing at 277. The dashboard also shows that 97.5% of eligible residents are now fully vaccinated.
Last week the school district zeroed out — no cases reported in the schools from Oct. 9 – Oct. 15. Piedmont High School is requiring all students who plan to attend Saturday’s Homecoming dance to take a COVID PCR test.
In a sign that boosters will be increasingly necessary to protect those over 65, Marin County health officials and health care organizations are urging older adults to get COVID-19 booster shots, as more residents over 65 who were vaccinated more than six months ago are being hospitalized, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“People who got Pfizer shots more than six months ago are eligible for boosters, and similar authorization is expected for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters within days. Nearly 95% of Marin residents over age 65 have been fully vaccinated, compared to 92.5% of all residents 12 and older, ‘and local COVID-19 deaths rates have fallen dramatically,’ a county news release noted: ‘To maintain this protection, Marin County Public Health has set a goal for at least half of all residents over age 65 to receive their booster within the next month. Currently, only 25% of residents in that age group have received a booster dose.’ Among those hospitalized with COVID-19 since June, close to 8 in 10 were 65 or older.”
And of interest to local residents who received the J&J vaccine in particular, the New York Times reported on Monday that the F.D.A. is expected to authorize boosters of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines by Wednesday evening; it could allow the mix-and-match approach by then. The agency last month authorized booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for at least six months after the second dose.