Area Hospitals Mark Two Years of COVID-19

Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, part of the Sutter Health care network.

Dr. Stephen Parodi who heads Kaiser Permanente's efforts against Covid-19.

COVID-19 may be entering a new phase, but it’s not gone yet and people need to remain careful even as restrictions are relaxed, said Dr. Stephen Parodi of Kaiser Permanente. 

Parodi is an infectious disease specialist who heads Kaiser’s COVID-19 response. He spoke with the media on March 9 to mark the second anniversary of the first COVID lockdown on March 19, 2020.

In particular, people are reminded to get vaccinated and boosted, he said, even if there has been a decline in cases from a high peak. 

Similar advice came from Dr. Jeffrey Silvers, Sutter Health’s medical director of pharmacy and infection control. He is based at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, which is part of the Sutter Health care network.

There is still more COVID in circulation than there was a year ago, Silvers said, adding that a recent drop in cases does not put us anywhere near defeating the virus

Dr. Jeffrey Silvers, Sutter Health’s medical director of Pharmacy and Infection Control.

“We may get rid of Omicron, but some other variant will replace it,” he said.

He said hopefully it’s getting near endemic status, which means that case levels are stable and somewhat predictable. But while we may eventually get rid of the omicron variant, others will likely follow.

Both doctors said vaccinations still mattered. Vaccinations are increasingly able to prevent any infection at all, given that there are fewer infected people to catch it from, and almost always prevent severe infections resulting in hospitalization or even death.

Parodi added that vaccinations also protect against developing long COVID, a lingering, sometimes severe infection that can affect several parts of the body. 

Silvers said that long COVID mostly is seen in people following mild or asymptomatic initial cases of COVID, not in people who just got over a severe case. 

“People coming out of the hospital may take a while to recover, as with other illnesses. But it’s mostly people who thought they escaped getting a severe case who get long COVID,” Silvers said.

The case for vaccination, and any other precautions one can take against the virus, was made forcefully by former COVID patient Rev. Mark Wallace of Dinuba, near Fresno. 

He still had clearly visible marks on his face from the weeks he spent often lying facedown as Kaiser physicians and staff in Fresno desperately tried to save his life. People with severe respiratory problems often breathe better face down, he explained.

Wallace, pastor of the Living Word Fellowship in Dinuba, thanks to both God and Kaiser for his “miraculous” recovery. He had been on a respirator and in multi-organ failure before that.

“I’m vaccinated now even though I have a lot of immunity because I never want to go through anything like what I went through ever again,” he said.

Parodi said that immunity from vaccination is better than natural immunity after infection. 

“If you get infected you do get a limited amount of immunity to that particular variant for a limited period of time, perhaps 6 to 12 months,” he said. “And then unfortunately you're not protected against the next variant that might roll around.”

Immunity from a vaccine gives substantial protection against all COVID strains, though, Parodi said.

Both doctors said their respective medical chains had eased some precautions for visitors in particular, but that others such as masking remained, in keeping with hospitals’ basic role.

“Hospitals are a bit different than restaurants,” Silvers reminded people.