The Los Angeles Post

Skilled Nursing Facility Residents and Staff are Encouraged to Get the New Fall Booster As Soon As Possible

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1,944 New Positive Cases and 16 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Although COVID-19 metrics have recently improved in LA County, residents at Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) remain at elevated risk for severe illness should they become infected.  With cooler weather approaching, maximizing protection of our most vulnerable residents includes ensuring that as many residents and staff at SNFs are vaccinated in the early fall with the new COVID-19 Fall booster that has been updated to target both the most recent Omicron subvariants (BA.4/BA.5) and the original COVID-19 virus.

As of September 4, 91% of SNF residents and 98% of staff were fully vaccinated. Almost all these staff and residents are at least two months out from their last COVID vaccine dose and therefore eligible for the new Fall booster.

To improve booster coverage, all 340 SNFs have established long-term care pharmacy (LTCP) partners that can provide COVID vaccines/booster doses. Public Health’s mobile vaccine team (MVT) is contacting all SNFs to offer additional support including onsite booster clinics for residents and staff to get the Fall booster as soon as possible. Facilities with active outbreaks are being prioritized for on-site vaccine/booster clinics.

Public Health is also assisting and following up with education and resources for Skilled Nursing Facilities including bi-weekly webinars and email communications for staff and educational materials for residents.

The 7-day average case count in the county is 1,675, a small decline from one week ago when an average of 1,745 cases were reported. The 7-day average test positivity rate is 5.2% over the past week, down slightly from one week ago when it was 5.6%.

Over the past seven days, the average number of daily COVID-positive patients in LA County hospitals was 713, an 8% decline from one week ago when the average number of daily COVID-positive patients per day was 772.

Deaths, which typically lag hospitalizations by several weeks, increased slightly to 14 deaths reported each day this past week, an increase from an average of 11 daily reported deaths a week ago.

For the third week in a row, LA County is at the Low Community Level, which reflects very little stress associated with COVID-19 on the healthcare system in LA County.

“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. “While it is humbling to look back over the past 2 ½ years and be reminded of the enormity of the impact of COVID on our lives, I am also encouraged as we face our third winter with COVID because we are heading into the colder months with an updated fall booster that matches the variants currently circulating. This was not the case this past winter, when the highly infectious Omicron variant raged, nor the winter of 2020/2021 when most of us were not yet vaccinated.  The work ahead is to be sure that access to the new vaccines is very easy and that everyone understands that the new Fall booster offers us our best opportunity to try and avert another terrible winter surge.”

Today, Public Health reported 16 additional deaths and 1,944 new positive cases. Of the 16 new deaths reported today, two people were between the ages of 30-49, one person was between the ages of 50-64, four people were between the ages of 65-79, and eight 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 16 newly reported deaths, 15 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 33,447.

Public Health has reported a total of 3,437,648 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 5.2%.

There are 669 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 12,522,412 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:

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Total Cases

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

3,437,648

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

3,251,432

— Long Beach

150,450

— Pasadena

35,766

Deaths

33,447

— Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

31,692

— Long Beach

1,326

— Pasadena

429

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

– 0 to 4

102,864

– 5 to 11

273,994

– 12 to 17

267,907

– 18 to 29

711,072

– 30 to 49

1,046,442

– 50 to 64

550,306

– 65 to 79

223,502

–  over 80

73,057

–  Under Investigation

2,288

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

–  Female

1,668,499

–  Male

1,495,708

–  Other

1,522

–  Under Investigation

85,703

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

6,135

–  Asian

231,048

–  Black

166,489

–  Hispanic/Latino

1,410,980

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

16,565

–  White

440,535

–  Other

369,042

–  Under Investigation

610,638

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

–  Hospitalized (Ever)

154,595

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

–  American Indian/Alaska Native

73

–  Asian

4,008

–  Black

2,955

–  Hispanic/Latino

16,007

–  Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

112

–  White

8,093

–  Other

359

–  Under Investigation

85