Peninsula Business Owners, Residents Ponder Post-Pandemic Future
SAN MATEO (KPIX) -- On Saturday, those heading to the San Mateo County Event Center were focused on volleyball not vaccinations.
It was the first time in several months where the site did not serve as the county's primary booster and vaccination clinic. Earlier in the week, the county pulled the plug on the clinic, which served only 120 people on its final day in operation. The county has been scaling down the site for several weeks as the vaccine demand has decreased, a spokesperson said.
Now, San Mateo County will focus on community-based vaccine and booster sites that have regular hours and which are located throughout the county. As of this week, 93.5 percent of the county's eligible population has been vaccinated, according to a spokesperson.
"I think we're moving from an emergency response with all hands on deck to one that's more individualized and personalized," said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF. "We're doing pretty well from this surge but, of course, we don't know what's going to happen next. Next doesn't mean that it'll be in the next month or two months. Next may mean next winter or fall."
Dr. Chin-Hong says COVID isn't going to just disappear once the surge subsides. However, this wave is almost over.
"We can sort of enjoy the next lull and hopefully that lull will last long. But we really need to drive down those deaths before we can think of it like another flu," he said. "You know the storm will come at some point, because COVID isn't going anywhere any time soon. It's still circulating in the world and not enough of the world is immune, so we will undoubtedly see it again."
With the situation calming down, COVID-related restrictions are easing on the Peninsula and throughout most of the Bay Area. All of the counties, with the exception of Santa Clara County, will lift the indoor mask mandate for vaccinated individuals after Feb. 15. Individual business owners will be able to require masks if they choose to.
"I really haven't decided yet," said Lewis Cohen, owner of B Street Books in San Mateo. "I'm kind of waiting to see what other businesses are going to do and what my clientele seems to want."
Susan Engle, who lives in San Mateo, is glad to see the mandate will be coming to an end in a few days.
"I'll be very happy. I think I'll still carry a mask and wear a mask in certain situations but it'll be nice to take them off," she said. "If I'm in the gym and there's someone right next to me on the elliptical, sweating, I think I'll put the mask on."
Dr. Chin-Hong says he's not going to completely ditch the mask indoors just yet.
"I for one, for example, will still wear my mask in a crowded, indoor setting, until we hit sea-level in COVID," he said. "We're almost there but not quite yet."
