COVID-19 Recovery Calls

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

The San Bernardino COVID-19 Contact Tracing Program (CCTP) implemented a novel effort to enhance COVID-19 case data, link residents to social resources, and assess prevalence of persistent symptoms post-infection among San Bernardino County (SBC) residents. As with many jurisdictions in California, SBC experienced a surge in July 2020 after the initial lockdown eased. CCTP was unable to interview all incoming COVID-19 cases, resulting in gaps of descriptive data used to understand the evolving pandemic among SBC residents. The CCTP initiated a Recovery interview process in September 2020, through which we interviewed cases ≥90 days after the onset of symptoms or first positive test. From September 2020 through December 2021, CCTP has interviewed 206,320 former cases, or 56.8% of the total cases eligible for a Recovery interview. As a result, case data now provides a more complete epidemiologic picture of COVID-19 transmission, morbidity, and mortality among SBC residents. Many residents expressed appreciation for assistance in linking them to needed social services. The results from our efforts point to the need for vaccination and mental health services, particularly in our immunocompromised residents, as a worthwhile tool in support of residents experiencing post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC).