Public Health Monitors Increases in New Cases and Delta Variant Cases; Nearly 60% of L.A. County Residents Fully Vaccinated

6 New Deaths and 506 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

 

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirms the highest number of COVID-19 cases in a day since mid-April with 506 new cases. This is more than a doubling of new cases in two weeks.

The County’s daily test positivity rate is 1.2%, an increase from last week’s rate of 0.7%. The daily average case rate is 2.19 cases per 100,000 people, also an increase from last week’s rate of 1.74 cases per 100,000.

With the recent rise in cases, tracking the proliferation of variants of concern remains a high priority as we seek to better understand the factors that may be contributing to increased community transmission. Public Health is watching particularly closely for Delta variants, which were first detected in India, and are now estimated to comprise more than 26% of U.S. cases.

Between last week and this week, the number Delta variants sequenced doubled to reach a total of 245, 47% of all sequences reported. The rising proportion of Delta among sequenced variants of concern is consistent with what other parts of the U.S. are seeing and represents increased circulation of the variant.  Given that 4 million residents in L.A. County are not yet vaccinated, the risk of increased spread is very real.

The Delta variant appears to be highly transmissible – that is, it is more contagious even than other highly contagious COVID-19 variants – and because there is concern that it may cause more severe infections than other COVID-19 variants. And while emerging data affirms that fully vaccinated people are well protected from severe infections with Delta variants, people with only one vaccine are not as well-protected, and there is increasing evidence that a very small number of fully vaccinated individuals can become infected and may be able to infect others. Nonetheless, vaccines remain the most important tool to keep COVID-19 transmission and the incubation of variants low, and the pandemic today is almost entirely among unvaccinated individuals.

As of June 27, more than 10,439,634 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of these, 5,822,499 were first doses and 4,617,135 were second doses. Among L.A. County residents 16 and over, 68% have received one dose of vaccine and 59% have been fully vaccinated. Among L.A. County seniors 65 and over, 87% have received one dose of vaccine and 76% have been fully vaccinated.

Of the six new deaths reported today, two people that passed away were over the age of 80, two people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. To date, Public Health identified 1,250,717 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,489 deaths. There are 275 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Testing results are available for more than 7,035,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive.

“To those of you who have lost friends, family, neighbors, or coworkers to this virus, please know that our thoughts and hearts are with you during this difficult time,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “At the beginning of the pandemic, we found ourselves in a situation where we knew very little about this virus and had very few tools to combat it. Although we now have three vaccines that we know are extraordinarily effective at preventing serious illness and death against the various strains of COVID-19 and variants of concern, there is still much we don’t know about the Delta variant, including whether fully vaccinated people are capable of passing along the variant if they become infected. Our recommendation for everyone to wear masks indoors in those settings where vaccination status cannot be verified will help press pause on viral transmission while we learn more. We have enough risk and enough unvaccinated people for Delta to pose a threat to our recovery, and masking up now could help prevent a resurgence in transmission.”

Beginning this Friday, July 2 through next Thursday, July 8 at county-run vaccination sites, LA City sites, and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites, everyone 18 and older coming to get a vaccine will have an opportunity to win one of four packages of tickets and passes to botanical gardens in the area. Each prize package consists of one annual membership to the Huntington Botanical Gardens and one-day passes to Descanso Gardens, L.A. County Arboretum, and South Coast Botanic Garden. Official rules and participating site locations will be posted online on the Los Angeles Vaccination Sweepstakes page.  The season passes to Six Flags, the LA Zoo, the Natural History Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits, and ticket packs to the California Science Center sweepstakes is currently in effect through the end of the day today.

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.

COVID-19 Sector Protocols, Best Practices, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, 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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