San Diego County has reported 528 new cases of COVID-19 and no new virus-related deaths, one day after the county Health and Human Services Agency announced that an unvaccinated woman was the first pregnant San Diego person to die from the virus.
Also on Saturday, the number of COVID patients in county hospitals increased from 284 on Friday to 288, with 85 of those patients in intensive care, up from 83 the day before, according to the latest state figures.
The pregnant woman died last week after being hospitalized, as did her unborn child. Her age and other details about her death and pregnancy were not being reported to protect her family's privacy.
"This is a very unfortunate death, and our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of the deceased," said Dr. Seema Shah, medical director of HHSA's Epidemiology and Immunization Services branch. "Contracting COVID-19 during pregnancy puts you at greater risk of having serious complications and death.
"We urge anyone who is pregnant and unvaccinated to get immunized to protect themselves and their babies," Shah said.
On Wednesday, the HHSA issued a health advisory to the local medical community alerting them of an increase in cases and hospitalizations of unvaccinated pregnant women, and encouraging them to urge their patients to get vaccinated.
Saturday's COVID numbers brought the county's cumulative totals to 360,917 cases and 4,113 deaths since the pandemic began.
A total of 22,644 tests were reported to the county on Friday, and the percentage of new positive cases over the last week is 3%. The county doesn't report lab test results on the weekends.
The public health community was preparing for the double threat of coronavirus and influenza.
This year's flu season is likely to be a more typical one — rather than the almost nonexistent season seen last year during the height of COVID-19 mask-wearing and social distancing.
A report from the county released last week found 167 influenza cases have been recorded so far in the community, well above the prior three-year average of 102 cases at the same time. Last year, only five flu cases had been reported at this point. This week's figure puts the current flu season more in line with busier seasons recorded in 2017-18 and 2019-20.
There are more than 400 locations where San Diegans can get vaccinated against COVID-19. They include doctors' offices, retail pharmacies, community clinics and county public health centers.
More than 4.82 million COVID vaccine doses have been administered in San Diego County, with 2.48 million people — or 88.7% of eligible county residents — having received at least one dose. Fully vaccinated county residents number more than 2.23 million, or around 79.4% of the county's eligible population in reports released Wednesday.
