Public health experts are urging people to stay vigilant and get vaccination boosters as the new COVID-19 variant BA.2 becomes the dominant strain of coronavirus.
Experts worry that as the new variant spreads, in counties like Butte where vaccination rates and community masking are low, communities will be particularly vulnerable.
Butte County Public Health data reports that as of April 11, the population is 55.8% fully vaccinated, 5.76% partially vaccinated and 38.35% unvaccinated. Yet, statewide, 75% of people 5 and older are fully vaccinated and 9% are partially vaccinated.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, by April 2, BA.2 had become the dominant strain in the United States. However, in Butte County, omicron still appeared in 84.6% of the county’s cases while BA.2 was responsible for 15.4% of cases in March.