New Vaccination Sweepstakes with the LA Clippers, Rams, & Chargers Begins Tomorrow, Modified Health Officer Order to be Issued Next Week; Nearly 75% of L.A. County Seniors Fully Vaccinated

7 New Deaths and 220 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Beginning tomorrow, Friday, June 11 to next Thursday, June 17 at County-run vaccination sites, participating LA city and mobile sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites, everyone 18 and older coming to get their first vaccine or who brings a first-time vaccine recipient with them to their second dose appointment, will have an opportunity to win a pair of season tickets to the 2021-2022 home season of the Clippers, the Rams, or the Chargers.  Official rules and participating site locations will be posted on the Los Angeles County Vaccination Sweepstakes page online tomorrow.  The LA Football Club soccer team or the LA Dodgers season tickets vaccination sweepstakes is currently in effect through the end of the day today.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 7 new deaths and 220 new cases of COVID-19.  Of the seven new deaths reported today, one person that passed away was over the age of 80, three people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, one person who died was between the ages of 50 and 64, and one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach.

To date, Public Health identified 1,245,771 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,414 deaths. There are 244 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 18% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 6,870,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 0.4%.

Next week, L.A. County will issue a modified Health Officer Order to align with the State that will include new masking guidance, requirements for workplaces to adhere to the Cal/OSHA standards, and any needed sector-specific protocols that remain in place for schools, day cares, camps, and high-risk congregate settings. These sector specific guidance documents will be aligned with the State guidance for these sectors.  The many other sector-specific protocols that are currently on the Public Health website will be retired on June 15.

Masks will not be required for fully vaccinated people, except in the certain settings where masks are required for everyone, regardless of vaccination status.  Masks will be required for unvaccinated people in indoor public settings and businesses.

Today, Thursday, June 10, at 6:00 p.m., Public Health will host a Virtual Town Hall on reopening. Join the town hall to get the latest updates on the June 15 reopening of Los Angeles County. The town hall will be streamed live on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @lapublichealth. For more information and to submit a question, visit: tinyurl.com/AskReopeningTownHall.

As of June 6, more than 9,689,191 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of these, 5,525,666 were first doses and 4,163,525 were second doses. More than 5.4 million L.A. County residents have received at least one dose of vaccine and more than 4.5 million are fully vaccinated.  Among L.A. County residents 16 and over, 65% have received one dose of vaccine and 55% have been fully vaccinated. Among seniors 65 and over, 86% have received one dose of vaccine and 74% are fully vaccinated.

The vaccinated proportion of County 16 to 17-year-olds has been rising steadily from 35% on May 6 to 47% a month later. There are also modest increases among 18 to 29-year-olds, whose proportion vaccinated increased from 45% to 52% over the same interval, and among 30 to 49-year-olds, who saw an increase from 55% to 61%.  County seniors are already vaccinated at very high rates, and they continue to show up for their vaccines with nearly 90% of 65 to 79-year-olds now vaccinated.

“We extend our love and prayers to those of you who have been grieving the loss of a loved one or a coworker to this virus. We are hopeful that even as we collectively mourn our great losses, deaths continue to remain very low in the weeks ahead,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “Here in L.A. County, as we go into a full reopening next week, we’re looking pretty good. Fully vaccinated people are well-protected, and our transmission rates are very low. However, when capacity limits and distancing requirements are lifted next week, there will be some very real risk for people who aren’t fully vaccinated. For these individuals in particular, once we reopen, your best protection will be your mask. If you aren’t fully vaccinated, in any setting when you’re around people outside your household, your mask is the most powerful tool you have to protect other unvaccinated people and yourself. While vaccine provides the most protection against COVID-19, a mask will do a lot to protect you if you’re not ready to get vaccinated.”

During the surge, daily age-adjusted rate of cases per 100,000 people were much higher among Latinx residents than among other racial groups. The highest case rates now are among Black residents, at 35 cases per 100,000 Black residents. The rate for Latinx residents is 20 cases per 100,000 residents, for White residents is 14 cases per 100,000 residents and for Asian residents is 6 cases per 100,000 residents. Overall numbers have decreased by 5 to 10 cases per 100,000 residents in each group over the last two weeks; the disproportionate burden borne by Black residents is unchanged.

Also, during the surge weekly age-adjusted rate of hospitalizations per 100,000 people were much higher among Latinx residents than among other racial groups. As of June 5, the highest hospitalization rates are now among Black residents, at 2.6 hospitalizations per 100,000 Black residents. The rate for Latinx residents dropped to 1.9 hospitalizations per 100,000 Latinx residents, and White and Asian residents are hospitalized at rates of 1.2 and 0.3 hospitalizations per 100,000 people.

Given the disparities in cases and hospitalizations that now disproportionately affect Black residents, the death rate due to COVID-19 is now highest among Black residents. As of May 29, the death rate among Black residents was about .55 per 100,000 people – still low, but twice as among Asian residents, whose death rate was about .15 per 100,000 people. The death rate among Latinx residents was .52 per 100,000 people and the death rate among White residents was 0.33 per 100,000 people.

Even as County metrics remain low across all groups, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are highest among Black and Latinx residents, where vaccination rates are lowest. In the communities where viral transmission is highest, people have the lowest levels of protection against infection, and are the most vulnerable in the event of a resurgence of infections.

Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more. If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment, connecting to free transportation to and from a vaccination site, or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound.  Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, 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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