Stop the COVID Surge - Get Boosted Today

Schedule Your Bivalent Booster Appointment

In the winter of 2020-2021 and even more pronounced in the winter of 2021-2022, we witnessed a surge in COVID-19 cases. Based on these records, and general patterns of viruses that are primarily spread via respiration, similar trends may be expected this winter. But there is an extremely valuable tool that can help stop the spread. The bivalent booster, which became available to anyone age 12 and over in September, provides protection against the most common Omicron subvariants - BA.4 and BA.5 - in addition to the original strain. As individual immunity from previous infection and/or vaccination wanes over time, getting a booster is essential in providing yourself maximum protection. With temperatures dropping and people spending more time indoors, now is the perfect time to get the bivalent booster if you have not already.

For the first time this year, daily reported cases of COVID-19 are on par with where they were this time in 2020 and 2021, instead of being noticeably higher. And while case rates have been going down steadily over the last few months, in previous years, we started to see increases in cases around Thanksgiving, peaking in January. Now is the time for action to prevent a repeat of these trends for this year. Unfortunately, nationwide, uptake of the new vaccine is abysmally low, with only around 10% of people having received it so far. Due to the complexity of reporting different types of vaccinations and boosters, we do not currently have numbers for Berkeley residents who have gotten the bivalent booster.

There are plenty of opportunities to schedule an appointment. One of the easiest ways is to contact your primary healthcare provider. In most cases you should be able to get an appointment within a couple of weeks, if not earlier. You can also get a flu shot at the same time. For more options and information on where to book an appointment, click here.

General COVID-19 Updates

As of Sunday, November 6th, there have been 20,834 cases of COVID-19 in Berkeley. These are lab confirmed cases, and do not include unreported cases discovered through home test kits. Over the last 30 days, there were 279 cases, and we are currently averaging 11 daily cases over the last seven days. The case rate, which is based on last week’s numbers, is 6.7 cases per 100,000 residents per day. Test positivity is at 3.0%, which has been gradually declining over the past few months. Total hospitalizations, including ICU numbers, are also declining throughout the County. 70 Berkeley residents have died from COVID-19 to date, with 13 deaths recorded so far in 2022, the latest one occurring on October 14th. 95% of Berkeley residents are fully vaccinated, with 88% of vaccinated people receiving at least one booster. For more information, visit the City's COVID-19 Dashboard.