California becomes first in nation to shift to ‘endemic’ virus policy

NEARLY two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, California is the first state in the nation to announce a shift to an “endemic” approach to coronavirus.

Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday, Feb. 17 unveiled the SMARTER Plan, which outlines the state’s management of COVID-19 while prioritizing recovery.

“We are moving past the crisis phase into a phase where we will work to live with this virus,” Newsom said on Thursday, speaking from Fontana, California.

“In that light, we have put together a plan that we coin as the ‘SMARTER’ plan because we are smarter two years later. We are more adaptable. We are more capable to understand the nature of this disease,” Newsom added.

The plan covers “shots,” “masks,” “awareness,” “readiness,” “testing,” “education” and “Rx.”

Under shots, California will maintain capacity to administer at least 200,000 vaccines per day on top of existing pharmacy and provider infrastructure.

Though the statewide mandate for indoor public masking has been lifted as of Feb. 15, the state said it will maintain a stockpile of 75 million high quality masks and the capability to distribute them as needed.

The governor added, “We move out of the pandemic phase and we move into a phase which should allow you confidence that we are not walking away, that we’re taking the lessons learned and we’re leaning into the future.”

As communities of color have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, the awareness pillar of the plan calls for the state to  continue to promote vaccination, masking and other mitigation measures in all 58 counties and support engagement with at least 150 community-based organizations.

Under readiness, the state “The state will maintain wastewater surveillance in all regions and enhance respiratory surveillance in the health care system while continuing to sequence at least 10% of positive COVID-19 test specimens. The state will also maintain the ability to add 3,000 clinical staff within 2-3 weeks of need and across various health care facility types.”

Testing options for COVID-19 will remain in place with statewide capacity to administer at least 500,000 PCR and antigen tests a day.

For education, the state said it “will continue to work to keep schools open and children safely in classrooms for in-person instruction. The state will expand by 25% school-based vaccination sites supported by the state to increase vaccination rates as eligibility expands.”

For Rx, the governor’s office said the state will maximize orders for the most clinically effective therapeutic available through federal partnerships, ensuring allocations of effective therapeutics are ordered within 48-hours.

“California is prepared to lean in on the principles that have made us successful in our COVID-19 response. Under the SMARTER Plan, we will use the significant knowledge we have gained and the tools and resources we have developed over the last two years to adapt and respond to whatever is next,” said California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “Californians should rest assured we are ready and prepared to meet any public health challenges that may lie ahead.”