SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In Governor Gavin Newsom’s 18-minute State of the State address Tuesday, he spent just 70 seconds talking about COVID-19 – and with a hopeful, optimistic tone.
“No state took bolder steps to protect public health and human life over the last two years. Our lockdowns, distressing as they were, saved lives. Our mask mandates saved lives,” Gov. Newsom said.
This comes as case rates and deaths continue to decline from the peak of the omicron variant surge earlier this year.
UC Berkeley epidemiologist Dr. John Swartzberg told ABC10 he is surprised the governor spent so little time on the topic in the annual address but agrees that the state is heading in the right direction.
“California has done a remarkably good job against COVID compared to much of the rest of the United States, and I think that the data clearly shows that,” Dr. Swartzberg said. “I'm pleased with that.”
Newsom pointed out nearly 75% of all Californians age five and older are now fully vaccinated. That beats the national picture, where a little over 69% of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated.
“California experienced far lower COVID death rates than any other large state,” Newsom said. “Fewer than Texas, Ohio. Fewer than Florida – 35%, to be exact.”
Dr. Swartzberg confirmed that, saying Florida has had roughly 35% more COVID-19 deaths, per capita, than California.
"The United States has not done well in this pandemic. California has done better, fortunately,” Swartzberg said.
Still, in the opening words before Gov. Newsom spoke, Rabbi Denise Eger of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood lead a moment of silence for Californians who have lost their lives to the virus.
“These two years have challenged us all,” she said. “Nearly 90,000 Californians have died during this coronavirus pandemic, so let us pause now in reverence to honor their lives and pay our respects to their families.”
As of Tuesday’s daily update, California’s official number of total COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic was 85,854.
Dr. Swartzberg said he thinks the Governor’s optimism is fair. He said we’re moving – as a state and nation – toward an ‘endemic’ phase of COVID-19, meaning we see case rates that are stable, as the virus becomes more manageable.
That’s at the heart of California’s approach, announced last month, “the nation’s first blueprint to stay a step ahead of future variants, and seasonal surges,” Newsom said.
The so-called SMARTER Plan involves relaxing precautions now but preparing to respond if we see another surge or variant, through spending to stockpile masks and tests, add healthcare workers when needed and push back against false information.
Swartzberg thinks Newsom’s plan is a good one.
“This is the first time we're trying to do something proactively as things are dramatically getting better here and in the United States,” Dr. Swartzberg said. “Let's plan for the next variant. Of course, we're going to hope it never occurs, but let's plan for it so we can take it on much better than we've taken on any of the previous variants.”
As for masks, Swartzberg said the responsibility is now on us, as government restrictions are lifted.
“I plead to people to pay attention to the fact that masks are strongly recommended in certain settings. And pay attention, also, to the fact that now our governance is no longer telling us what we need to do, which is great, but that means the responsibility of what we need to do is put back onto us,” he said. “So individuals need to assess their own risks.”
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