SAN DIEGO - Despite the recent statement from Pres. Biden about the COVID-19 Pandemic being over, local health care professionals say the virus is still here and hundreds of people are still dying each day.
Dr. William Tseng, Assistant Medical Director of Kaiser Permanente tells NBC 7 while people are moving on with their lives they need to be aware of the risks the virus still poses.
"This is still killing more people than deaths from motor vehicle accidents," said Dr. Tseng. "It is killing more people than the drug epidemic. This still remains a serious illness.”
Dr. Tseng saying everyone should have at least three shots of a COVID vaccine and if you're sick with COVID symptoms, get on the monoclonal treatments as soon as possible. The doctor went on to say while about half of recent deaths are elderly people or those with underlying health conditions, the rest are unvaccinated and the he says more needs to be done to get this group to get the shot.
Compared to other areas, San Diego County is doing pretty well with one of the highest vaccination rates, with about 85 percent of eligible people receiving at least one dose, 74 percent being fully vaccinated against COVID.