The Los Angeles Post

As LA County Remains in High Community Level, Residents Urged to be Fully Vaccinated to Increase Protection

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Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 cases continue their recent decline, while hospitalization and hospital admissions appear to have plateaued. Los Angeles County remains at the high community level on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 framework this week, but Public Health is monitoring metrics that may move the county to the medium community level.

LA County’s 7-day case rate, which while still appreciably elevated at 376 cases per week per 100,000 people, represents a considerable decline from the case rate of 426 a week ago.

According to the LA County hospital metrics data CDC reported out on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week, the county’s hospital admission rate declined enough to move the county back down into the Medium Community Level.  However, the preliminary data that CDC posted yesterday, calculated the hospital admission rate at 10.1 keeping LA County in the High Community level. Additionally, the 7-day average for the proportion of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is 7.0%, a small decline from the 7.2% CDC reported last Wednesday.

Given declining cases and continued efforts to slow the spread, it is possible for the county to quickly move and remain in the Medium Community Level in the weeks ahead.  This is especially important with schools opening soon across the county.

Additionally, LA County reported declines in five of its Early Alert signals: the percent of Emergency Department visits that are COVID-related, the case rate in the lowest income areas, number of new outbreaks opened per week in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), number of new outbreaks opened per week in settings for people experiencing homelessness, and number of worksite case clusters per week.

Getting vaccinated and boosted remains a critical tool for staying as safe as possible, especially when transmission remains high.  One opportunity to increase vaccination rates is the new Novavax vaccine that was recently approved by the FDA and is now available here. The Novavax vaccine is authorized for use as a two-dose primary series for adults 18 and older with the two doses given three to eight weeks apart. This vaccine was made using technology that has been used in vaccines for more than 30 years.

LA County Public Health vaccination sites, mobile vaccination teams, and several of our partners providing mobile vaccine clinics began offering the Novavax vaccine this week, and additional providers will be added in coming weeks. There is a link at VaccinateLACounty.com to make it very easy to find Novavax locations by clicking on the FIND A NOVAVAX VACCINATION SITE to get a list of all locations and their hours.

“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. “There are still about 2 million people in LA County who have not been vaccinated; we urge those who haven’t yet begun their primary series to speak with your medical provider about your concerns and the steps to take to protect yourself from your increased risk of experiencing the dangerous outcomes associated with COVID. Also, with the start of the school year just around the corner, now would be the perfect time for parents to get their children’s COVID-19 vaccinations up-to-date. Over the past several months, vaccines for the youngest children, between the age of 6 months and 4 years, are among the most recent to become available. Let us continue to take care of each other, and our communities, by being fully vaccinated. We have made great strides in protecting our most vulnerable residents, and I am grateful for everyone who continues to care about the health of our community as summer transitions to fall.”

Today, Public Health reported 19 additional deaths and 4,864 new positive cases. Of the 19 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 12-17, one person was between the ages of 30-49, four people were between the ages of 50-64, five people were between the ages of 65-79, and seven people were aged 80 years or older. For information on the one death reported by the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov. Of the 19 newly reported deaths, 16 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 32,826.

Public Health has reported a total of 3,325,622 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 12.8%.

There are 1,206 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,364,821 individuals, with 24% 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

3,325,622

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

3,145,730

— Long Beach

145,476

— Pasadena

34,416

Deaths

32,826

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

31,095

— Long Beach

1,308

— Pasadena

423

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

– 0 to 4

98696

– 5 to 11

268315

– 12 to 17

262510

– 18 to 29

691891

– 30 to 49

1012229

– 50 to 64

529165

– 65 to 79

212182

–  over 80

68540

–  Under Investigation

2202

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

–  Female

1611274

–  Male

1448916

–  Other

1446

–  Under Investigation

84094

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

5886

–  Asian

219691

–  Black

159846

–  Hispanic/Latino

1370614

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

16033

–  White

424114

–  Other

356313

–  Under Investigation

593233

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

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

148,042

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

73

–  Asian

3918

–  Black

2898

–  Hispanic/Latino

15812

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

112

–  White

7869

–  Other

324

–  Under Investigation

89