Community Health Workers Are Key for Under Resourced Communities with Higher Case Rates

2,457 New Positive Cases and 26 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County 

While COVID-19 has spread across the entire county, some cities and communities have experienced higher case rates than others. From the onset of the pandemic, communities of color, under-resourced communities, and communities with large numbers of essential workers have been most impacted by COVID-19.  Among the cities and communities with the highest case rates: the areas of Central, South, and Southeast LA; proportions of the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley and Antelope valleys.

While the county continues to address geographic areas with high case rates, health outcome metrics reveal that vaccination status continues to play a critical role in determining the risk of transmission and critical illness.

For the week ending January 29, county residents who were unvaccinated were two times more likely to be infected as compared to individuals who were fully vaccinated. When comparing unvaccinated individuals with those vaccinated and fully boosted, unvaccinated people were nearly four times more likely to be infected.

As of January 29, unvaccinated people were more than five times likelier to be hospitalized compared to fully vaccinated residents. Fully vaccinated and boosted individuals were more than 18 times less likely to end up hospitalized as compared to unvaccinated people. And, the likelihood of ending up in the ICU was also significantly higher for unvaccinated residents. As compared to residents who were fully vaccinated, unvaccinated residents were seven times more likely to end up in the ICU, and more than 31 times more likely as compared to people who were fully vaccinated and boosted.

To help close the gaps in vaccination coverage, Public Health continues to deploy resources to help coordinate and mobilize community health workers, also called promotoras, to conduct healing-informed grassroots community outreach.

According to a study by the Ad Council that looked at the trusted messengers that consumers turn to for social and societal issues, new information–when presented by a trusted messenger–was most likely to influence a respondent’s change in views and behavior.

Through the Community Health Worker Outreach Initiative, promotoras provide accurate and up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 and connect residents with needed critical services, including health insurance, testing, mental health services, food pantries and housing assistance. They also share current public health directives, inform residents about safety requirements at sectors that are open, and requirements for worker safety.

As of February 6, the Community Health Worker Outreach Initiative has completed more than 450,000 outreach activities, including support for 2,500 in-person vaccination events and over 14,000 virtual COVID-19 educational sessions. Combined, these efforts have reached more than three million residents to date. Additionally, Public Health is also hosting more than 800 mobile vaccine clinics this week, many of which are located across many of the under-resourced communities impacted the most by this latest surge.

“Our hearts go out to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “I am grateful to everyone for all you are doing to take care of each other.  We are once again at a pivotal point in our recovery journey where we don’t have the luxury of ignoring our individual and collective responsibilities. Given where we are, and the continued risk in under-resourced communities, we need to  use sensible safety protections that help us drive down transmission of this dangerous virus.  Improving vaccination rates remains a priority since vaccines provide both significant protection for the vaccinated person and for the community around them.  We are grateful to all the health educators and promotoras for sharing their stories and serving as trusted sources of information about COVID and the vaccines. ”

Today, Public Health confirmed 26 additional deaths and 2,457 new cases of COVID-19. Today’s number of cases and deaths reflect the weekend reporting delays. Of the 26 new deaths reported today, three people were between the ages of 30-49, two were between the ages of 50-64, 11 were between the ages of 65-79, and 10 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 26 newly reported deaths, 21 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 29,928.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,764,073 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 3%.

There are 2,054 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,288,200 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

To reduce spread and keep workplaces and schools open, residents and workers are asked to:

• Adhere to masking requirements when indoors or at crowded outdoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status.
• Remain home when sick, isolate if they test positive and quarantine if they were in close contact with someone with COVID-19.

Residents are legally required to isolate themselves away from others if they test positive for COVID-19. Close contacts with symptoms and close contacts who are unvaccinated or not up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations need to follow quarantine requirements. For updated isolation and quarantine guidance, please visit www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and are recommended for everyone 5 years old and older to help protect against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites and many community sites where first, second, and third doses are available.

To find a vaccination site near you, or to make an appointment, please visit:

www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) or www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish).

If you need assistance, you can also call 1-833-540-0473 for help:

Finding an appointment, connecting to free transportation to and from a vaccination site, or Schedule a home visit if you are homebound.

For more information regarding COVID-19 in LA County you can also visit the Public Health website at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov here you will find information on COVID-19 sector protocols & best practices, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboards, and COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive and, Recovery Dashboards.

Please see additional information below:  Cases through 12:00pm 02/13/2022
	Total Cases	NEW
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	2,764,073	2457
— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*	2,614,070	2408
— Long Beach	122,706	0
— Pasadena	27,297	49
Deaths	29,928	26
— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	28,370	26
— Long Beach	1,169	0
— Pasadena	389	0
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
– 0 to 4	79911
– 5 to 11	232204
– 12 to 17	227139
– 18 to 29	583771
– 30 to 49	834164
– 50 to 64	432866
– 65 to 79	167032
–  over 80	54177
–  Under Investigation	2806
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  Female	1328061
–  Male	1210894
–  Other	941
–  Under Investigation	74174
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  American Indian/Alaska Native	4821
–  Asian	157382
–  Black	130322
–  Hispanic/Latino	1197621
–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	13564
–  White	331676
–  Other	287193
–  Under Investigation	491491
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  Hospitalized (Ever)	130365	**DATA  Under reported
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
–  American Indian/Alaska Native	64
–  Asian	3577
–  Black	2585
–  Hispanic/Latino	14739
–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	101
–  White	6950
–  Other	280
–  Under Investigation	74