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Petaluma Health Center workers prepare to administer coronavirus tests to patients waiting in their vehicles in January. The third year of the pandemic began with the huge omicron surge, which caught many experts off guard.
Alvin A.H. Jornada, Freelance Photographer / Special to The Chronicle
Concerns over COVID-19 appeared to take a back seat in many people’s minds during the holidays. But the coronavirus continued to spread in 2022 in San Francisco and across the state, as well as sickening and killing many people.
In 2022, the third year of the pandemic, San Francisco had about 118,000 confirmed cases — about 2.5 times as many as in 2021, according to data as of Dec. 27. Statewide, there were about 2 million more cases in 2022 than the year before.
Most of the blame falls on the ultra-contagious omicron variant, which spiked to record highs early in the year, followed by a summer swell of cases caused by descendants including BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5.
Many of the new COVID cases in 2022 — in San Francisco and across the state — happened in the earlier months of the year during the omicron spike.
The virus continued to evolve after that, including the summer subvariants and then strains in the fall that were even more immune evasive, such as BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.
But though the new versions of the coronavirus kept cases mounting, hospitalizations and deaths didn’t rise at the same rate. “While omicron is more contagious than previous variants, therefore resulting in more cases, it is also less fatal,” according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Deaths attributed to COVID have actually been declining in California and across the country. There were fewer in San Francisco in 2022 than in 2021, too, but not by much. Data from the state as of Dec. 27 shows 409 deaths in 2022, compared with more than 430 in 2021.
COVID hospitalizations have also generally been on a downward trend across the country in recent months. In San Francisco, the highest number of hospitalizations was recorded on Jan. 25, with nearly 290 patients — also during the omicron surge. Though the number has ebbed and flowed throughout the rest of the year, it has never been as high.
As of Dec. 25, the latest data available through the city’s health department, 107 people were hospitalized for COVID in San Francisco.
In its latest order, the health department recommended wearing masks in crowded settings, getting the bivalent COVID-19 booster and limiting large gatherings.
“We also encourage those who test positive to contact their health provider right away to see if they are eligible for treatment that may help reduce the severity of COVID complications, including hospitalization and death,” city health officials said.
A mother brings her child for a coronavirus vaccination at the United in Health clinic in San Francisco’s Mission District in September. Outreach efforts ratcheted up in 2022 to communities underserved by conventional medical services and harder hit by COVID-19.
Amy Osborne, Freelance / Special to The ChronicleYoohyun Jung and Jenny Kwon are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: yoohyun.jung@sfchronicle.com, jenny.kwon@sfchronicle.com
