The Los Angeles Post

Equitable Distribution of COVID-19 Therapeutics is Key to Mitigating COVID-19 Impact Among Underserved Communities 

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2,169 New Positive Cases Reported on Sunday, 664 New Positive Cases Reported Today, and 67 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County Reported for Sunday and Today

As L.A. County continues to slow community transmission of COVID-19, and access to effective therapeutics improves, equitable distribution of COVID-19 treatments is a critical issue.  As supply of these medicines increases, we need to be sure that information and access about therapeutics is available across the county, particularly in those communities with residents at elevated risk of poor outcomes should they become infected with COVID.

Several free treatment options are available and can be used to prevent severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19. Treatments are available for those who are at increased risk of severe disease, test positive for COVID-19, and have any symptoms, even mild ones (such as runny nose or cough).   Five therapeutic options have been authorized by the FDA for the treatment of COVID-19 in individuals ages 12 and over who are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness:

Oral Therapeutics (Pills)

Paxlovid (must be taken within 5 days of first COVID-19 symptom)

Molnupiravir (must be taken within 5 days of first COVID-19 symptom) **Oral therapeutic treatments require a prescription from a healthcare provider.

Monoclonal Antibody Intravenous (IV) and Antiviral Infusions

Sotrovimab (must be administered within 10 days of first COVID-19 symptom)

Remdesivir (must be given within 7 days of  first COVID-19 symptom)

Evusheld available for people who can’t get a COVID-19 vaccine for medical reasons, or who may not respond well to a vaccine because they have a weak immune system due to a medical condition or treatment. (must be administered before a person is exposed to COVID-19 to prevent them from getting infected)

For the week of February 25, L.A. County received 3,880 doses of Paxlovid, Pfizer’s oral treatment, that was distributed to providers, pharmacies, and clinics; this is a 38% increase from the allocation of the prior week. Overall, the county has been allotted a total of 14,740 doses of Paxlovid since the medication was first approved by the FDA to treat high-risk patients for COVID-19.

For the week February 25, L.A. County also received 4,392 doses of Molnupiravir, Merck’s oral treatment, a 110% increase from the amount sent the prior week. Since its FDA approval, the county has been allocated over 36,700 doses that have been distributed to county providers, pharmacies, and clinics.

The county also was allocated 336 doses of Evusheld; this is an increase of 367% from the allocation the previous week.

In total, more than 60,000 doses of these three COVID-19 therapeutics have been distributed across LA County since they first became available in December.

Residents who would like to access these medicines or have questions on which treatment is right for them should contact their medical provider or call the COVID-19 information line at 833-540-0473, 8:00 am – 8:30 pm daily. The call center is a free resource where residents can get culturally and linguistically appropriate information about available therapeutics, and how to access them. Because providers need to be registered in a federal management platform to receive these medications, Public Health is working to enroll enough providers to ensure a vast network of sites that can provide information, have a supply of therapeutics, and prescribing ability across the county, with emphasis on ensuring equitable distribution among hard hit and low-resourced communities.

As Public Health continues to build out the network of providers, a pilot will be launched using telehealth platforms at select sites to augment locations that can prescribe and distribute oral therapeutics in low resource communities. “I send my heartfelt condolences to those families who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With the availability of these new powerful tools, we now have another strong layer of protection to help us mitigate the worst outcomes of COVID-19. These therapeutics, including COVID pills and infusions, are potentially lifesaving for residents at increased risk of disease, but they need to be administered quickly. Residents who are considered high risk or those who have recently tested positive should contact their provider as soon as possible to get information on whether to consider a treatment that prevents severe illness should they become infected. As we continue makes these therapeutics widely available, we want to thank our partners for the great work they’ve done to distribute these medicines to those with elevated risk.”

Today, Public Health confirmed 67 additional deaths and 2,169 cases on Sunday and 664 new cases are being reported today. The higher number of cases and deaths reflect delays in reporting from the weekend. Of the 67 new deaths reported for Sunday and today, one person was between the ages of 18-29, seven were between the ages of 30-49, 12 were between the ages of 50-64, 25 were between the ages of 65-79, and 22 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 67 newly reported deaths, 55 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 30,716.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,796,560 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 1.1%.

There are 916 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,427,600 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov including:

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

Please see additional information below:

Cases through 12:00pm 02/27/2022

 

Total Cases

NEW

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

2,796,560

2833

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*

2,644,753

2827

— Long Beach

124,146

0

— Pasadena

27,661

6

Deaths

30,716

67

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

29,107

67

— Long Beach

1,211

0

— Pasadena

398

0

Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

– 0 to 4

81249

– 5 to 11

235566

– 12 to 17

230046

– 18 to 29

589440

– 30 to 49

843208

– 50 to 64

437682

– 65 to 79

169546

–  over 80

55145

–  Under Investigation

2871

Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

–  Female

1344311

–  Male

1225605

–  Other

975

–  Under Investigation

73862

Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

4876

–  Asian

160763

–  Black

132553

–  Hispanic/Latino

1214587

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

13567

–  White

337284

–  Other

289911

–  Under Investigation

491212

Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

133478

**DATA  Under reported

Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

69

–  Asian

3649

–  Black

2676

–  Hispanic/Latino

15049

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

104

–  White

7180

–  Other

296

–  Under Investigation

84