COVID-19 Hospitalizations Drop Below 700; L.A. County Nears 4 Million Vaccine Doses Administered

39 New Deaths and 859 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 39 new deaths and 859 new cases of COVID-19. Over 200 cases reported today are associated with a backlog of lab reports.  To date, Public Health identified 1,217,034 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,055 deaths.

There are 692 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 26% of these people are in the ICU. This is the first time daily hospitalizations dropped under 700 since October of last year.

Nearly 3,800,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of those vaccinated, 1,232,348 people received second doses and 67,016 people received the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Next week, Public Health is expecting to receive 340,000 vaccine doses; a 21% increase over the doses received this week. This allocation includes approximately 14,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Of the 340,000 doses we expect to receive next week, 65% will go to vaccine providers located in vulnerable and hard-hit communities across the county, specifically those communities in the lowest quartile of the Healthy Places Index and communities with high COVID-19 case rates. With more than 500 sites offering vaccination services across the county, we continue to move the needle in our vaccination coverage efforts, with a strong focus on hard-hit communities.

As of March 20, 65.1% of L.A. County residents 65 and older received at least one dose of the vaccine and 42.4% received both doses. Mobile vaccine teams are deploying to hard hit communities, with a priority of vaccinating residents 65 and older. More than 80 mobile vaccination teams were scheduled to administer vaccinations this week at senior housing sites, senior centers, faith-based organizations and community-based organizations. In the coming weeks, an additional 150 mobile vaccination sites are scheduled throughout our county.

Vaccine eligibility categories were expanded to include gardeners and landscapers, housekeepers and private child caretakers working at least 20 hours per week, and flight crews that live or are based in Los Angeles County. Persons in these occupations are now eligible for vaccine and can now register for a vaccination appointment.

The State announced starting April 1, COVID-19 vaccine eligibility will expand to individuals age 50 and older, and starting April 15, for individuals age 16 and older. The County hopes the expansion of eligibility includes increased doses of vaccine coming into L.A. County.  Public Health greatly looks forward to this expansion, however the success will be dependent on receiving a substantial increase in vaccine supplies.

“We send our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one to COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “The more people that are vaccinated, the closer we are to ending the horrific death toll associated with the pandemic.  We know the virus does not respect borders and we remain quite concerned with reports of rising cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations in a growing number of states.  If we are able to hold the line here and prevent another wave of infections, we will soon be able to realize the profound benefits of our mass vaccination efforts in preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.  As vaccination eligibility expands, we remain laser-focused on ensuring an equitable distribution of vaccines.”

Of the 39 new deaths reported today, 15 people that passed away were over the age of 80, nine people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 10 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and three people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. Two deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach.

Testing results are available for more 6,052,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 1.4%.

L.A. County is working to ensure that eligible residents and workers in hard hit communities have increased access to vaccines. For information about who is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in L.A. County, how to make an appointment if it is your turn, what verifications you will need to show at your vaccination appointment, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com  (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com  (Spanish). Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

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