Gavin Newsom says he’s worried about COVID variants, urges Californians to take precautions

Nearly a third of Californians have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine, but Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he’s still concerned the state could see another coronavirus surge before its population reaches herd immunity.

That would mean more coronavirus deaths, as well as more harm to California’s already damaged economy. If case rates increase again, counties may face more restrictions on their economic activity, Newsom said. For weeks, the state has allowed counties to ease restrictions as case rates declined.

Currently, just 2.7% of California residents live in counties in the state’s “purple tier,” where economic activity is most restricted. Everyone else lives in a red or orange tier county, where restrictions for schools and businesses are looser.

California’s case rates are still decreasing, but other states are seeing cases jump. Other countries are also facing new surges. On Wednesday, France issued a new national lockdown. On Thursday, India reported its highest case spike in six months.

Every morning, Newsom said he reviews California’s coronavirus rates — its case rate, test positivity rate and deaths. He also looks at the number of variants the state’s genetic sequencing labs have detected.

So far, Newsom says California scientists have detected 854 cases of the variant first detected in the UK, 35 of the variant from Brazil, 10 of the variant from South Africa and 9,300 of the variants from the West Coast.

Newsom said much of his concern stems from those variants, which are thought to spread from person to person more easily. If case rates jump, the state may move counties back in its color-coded tiering system, known officially as the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.

“We’re very concerned about these mutations,” Newsom said. “If we see numbers increase, the Blueprint, which is now 30 weeks old, allows for us to toggle back.”

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned last week that the variants could fuel a new surge and that states should not rapidly relax restrictions.

Californians need to continue to take precautions until more people are vaccinated, Newsom said..

“Now is not the time to spike the ball. Now is not the time to announce mission accomplished,” he said Thursday in Los Angeles just after receiving his COVID-19 vaccine. “We’ve come so far together and we’re so close.”

Newsom, 53, got his shot on the first day all Californians over age 50 are eligible to sign up for vaccine appointments. On April 15, California will expand eligibility to everyone over age 16.

State officials are racing to inoculate as many Californians as possible to ward off a new wave of infections and propel the state’s economic recovery.

Newsom was vaccinated by his Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. California Government Operations Secretary Yolanda Richardson also got her vaccine at the event. Both received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Newsom’s office livestreamed their shots to increase public confidence in the vaccines.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it was particularly important for Richardson, who is Black, to get her vaccine publicly in an effort to show communities of color that the shots are safe. A recent survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found African Americans are the racial group most likely to say they probably or definitely won’t get vaccinated.

California has administered more than 18 million vaccine doses, mostly of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. About 40 million people live in California.

At the event, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that his city will take over operation of the federally-managed vaccination site at Cal State LA. The federal government opened two mass vaccination sites in California to much fanfare, but recently announced it would soon stop running them. Newsom said the county of Alameda will likely take over the federal vaccination site in Oakland, but details are still being finalized.

Newsom received some questions about whether an ingredient mix-up at a manufacturing plant in Baltimore that ruined up to 15 million Johnson & Johnson vaccines would affect California’s supply.

Newsom said California still expects to receive more than 1 million doses of the vaccine over the next three weeks despite the problem. But beyond that, he said, it’s unclear how many doses of that vaccine California will get.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccines currently being given throughout the U.S. were manufactured at a different plant in the Netherlands and are not affected by the errors in Baltimore.

This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 11:58 AM.