L.A. County Continues COVID-19 Vaccination and Booster Outreach to People Experiencing Homelessness

25 New Deaths and 1,333 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) continues to work closely with partner organizations to reach out to people experiencing homelessness and offer COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.

Approximately 119 vaccination events took place from October 9 to October 22 through various partners including Housing for Health, faith-based organizations, and mobile vaccination teams. These events took place at various venues including food banks, shelters, public libraries, clinics, and encampments.

There are 1,261 providers administering vaccinations to people experiencing homelessness; together, they have administered over 61,804 doses of COVID-19 vaccine across Los Angeles County; 30,909 people experiencing homelessness are fully vaccinated.

In parallel with the decline in overall COVID-19 transmission in L.A. County, cases among people experiencing homelessness have declined from 158 cases reported the week ending September 19 to 86 new cases reported this past week.

Of the 86 new cases reported among people experiencing homelessness this past week, 67 are cases from previous weeks that have been newly identified as being associated with people experiencing homelessness and are now included in the case totals. Tragically, two people experiencing homelessness passed away from COVID-19 this past week. To date, 9,452 people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County have tested positive for COVID-19 and 248 people who were experiencing homelessness have passed away from COVID-19. Of these people who passed away, 118 were sheltered, 79 were unsheltered, and for 51 people who passed away, their shelter status was unknown.

Today, Public Health confirms 25 new deaths and 1,333 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 25 new deaths reported today, seven people who passed away were over the age of 80, eight people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, seven people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and two people who died were between the ages of 18 and 29. One death was reported by the City of Long Beach. To date, Public Health has identified 1,490,698 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 26,626 deaths.

There are 638 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 28% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for nearly 9,034,000 individuals with 15% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 1.1%.

“To everyone experiencing the grief of losing a loved one to COVID-19, we send you our deepest sympathies,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we continue to experience substantial transmission across the County, it is important that those who are infected, even if they have no symptoms, isolate from others for at least 10 days to stop spreading the virus to others. And everyone who is a close contact to an infected person and is not vaccinated, needs to quarantine and not participate in activities with others. This means not hosting or attending parties, going to work or school or shopping at stores.  Breaking the chain of transmission requires that those infected or exposed do their part by staying away from others.”

Public Health encourages everyone not yet vaccinated to get vaccinated, and everyone eligible for a booster to get their booster. All three FDA-approved vaccines; Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are available for eligible individuals.

People eligible for boosters include adults of any age who received their first Johnson & Johnson dose at least two months ago, and people who got the second dose of their Pfizer or Moderna vaccines at least six months ago and are 65-plus years old or are over 18 and live in long-term care settings, have underlying medical conditions, or work or live in high-risk settings.

To find a vaccination site near you, make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com  (Spanish). 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.

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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