The Los Angeles Post

LA County Prepares to Offer Vaccines to Everyone 6 Months and Older Next Week Pending Final CDC Approval of Vaccines for Children Under Age 5

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5,122 New Positive Cases and 5 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Final CDC approval of COVID-19 vaccines for infants and young children age 6 months to age 5 is expected soon, and the vaccines should be widely available across the county next week. The safety and effectiveness of these vaccines have been reviewed extensively by scientists at both the FDA and CDC.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is meeting today and tomorrow and will vote on recommending the Pfizer-BioNTech’s three-dose vaccine for children age 6 months through 4 years, and Moderna’s two-dose vaccines for children age 6 months through age 5. Once the CDC director has issued her recommendation on the vaccine use, we can make vaccine available as soon as June 21st.

The Moderna vaccine products for age 6-17 will be discussed at a separate CDC meeting scheduled next week.

While children are typically at lower risk than adults of getting severely ill or even dying from COVID-19, bad outcomes are a very real possibility. Many children only get mild sickness from COVID-19, but unvaccinated children are at a higher risk of getting very sick and experiencing the worst outcomes of COVID-19. Unvaccinated children are also at risk of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). Over the past three months, unvaccinated children ages 12-17 in LA County were nearly four times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated children in the same age group. Additionally, 65% of vaccine-eligible children with confirmed cases of MIS-C in Los Angeles County, were unvaccinated, and this included children under the age of 4.

Vaccination also helps protect an entire household and community.  Young children can pass COVID-19 to other siblings or high-risk family members such as grandparents.

Across the county, more than 900 vaccination sites are scheduled to offer the vaccines to these youngest children including more than 500 mobile sites, 200 pharmacies and seven Public Health Points of Dispensing (PODs). Because some of the pharmacy sites are only licensed to vaccinate children age 3 and older, parents are encouraged to reach out ahead of time to verify hours and availability.

Parents can also visit the Public Health website at VaccinateLACounty.com  or

 VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to learn about locations, and schedules for clinics offering these and other COVID-19 vaccines.

For those who have any questions about vaccine safety and effectiveness, please reach out to your pediatrician or clinician or speak with a Public Health staff member at the COVID-19 call center, 1-833-540-0473 between the hours of 8 am and 8:30 pm seven days a week.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “As we have seen with adults, children can experience short and long-term health problems from COVID-19. Vaccinations are a proven safety measure that protect your entire family, including now your youngest children, from severe illness and death from COVID. The development and approval of the vaccines for children under age 5 have gone through a rigorous evaluation and approval process as with all other routine childhood vaccines. As we make plans to gather with family and to enjoy the summer and upcoming holidays, now is the time to make sure that all our children are fully vaccinated. Vaccinated children and adults add an essential layer of protection for the entire community, especially with the proliferation of new, highly infectious variants.”

Today, Public Health reported five additional deaths and 5,122 new positive cases today. Of the five new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 30-49, two people were between the ages of 65-79, and two people were aged 80 years or older. Of the five newly reported deaths, all had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 32,250.

Public Health has reported a total of 3,057,004 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 9.3%.

There are 612 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,110,240 individuals, with 23% 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:

For more information:

 

Total Cases

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

3,057,004

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

2,893,022

— Long Beach

132,739

— Pasadena

31,243

Deaths

32,250

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

30,553

— Long Beach

1,281

— Pasadena

416

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

– 0 to 4

88727

– 5 to 11

256645

– 12 to 17

251562

– 18 to 29

642241

– 30 to 49

924789

– 50 to 64

478604

– 65 to 79

187802

–  over 80

60524

–  Under Investigation

2128

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

–  Female

1476398

–  Male

1336610

–  Other

1308

–  Under Investigation

78706

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

5324

–  Asian

191766

–  Black

145591

–  Hispanic/Latino

1288234

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

14675

–  White

387991

–  Other

322137

–  Under Investigation

537304

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

–  Hospitalized (Ever)***

140,469

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

72

–  Asian

3825

–  Black

2838

–  Hispanic/Latino

15655

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

113

–  White

7658

–  Other

303

–  Under Investigation

89