As COVID-19-related hospitalizations continue to rise, the Los Angeles County Department of Health (Public Health) is highlighting data showing people who have been vaccinated remain exceptionally well protected from serious COVID-19 illness .
There are currently 1,503 people in hospital with COVID-19 and 23% of those people are in intensive care. At the end of July, about 94 new people admitted to hospital were positive for COVID-19 every day; of these 88% were unvaccinated.
Among the more than 5.1 million fully vaccinated people in LA County, Public Health identified fewer than 1%, or 15,628 fully vaccinated people, who tested positive for COVID-19 on August 3. Of the people who tested positive, 446 were hospitalized. This corresponds to 0.009% of all fully vaccinated people who are admitted to the hospital. Deaths in this group are also very low at 0.0008%, the equivalent of 41 fully vaccinated people who tragically died. This compelling evidence shows that fully vaccinated people continue to have a small risk of contracting the infection and an even lower risk of having a bad outcome if they are infected.
Given the high rate of transmission in the community, now is a particularly critical time to increase vaccination rates.
Healthcare workers have been among the population groups at the highest risk of COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began.
As PPE became more widely available and vaccinations increased among health care workers, their infection rates declined earlier this year. However, the county is now seeing an increase in transmission in this group: between July 25 and July 31, 268 health care workers and first responders tested positive for COVID-19.
Healthcare workers are not vaccinated consistently, and while consistent use of respirators and PPE reduces the likelihood of transmission in healthcare, unvaccinated workers are still at higher risk of infection in their communities when community transmission is high.
Since many health care workers have close contact with very vulnerable patients, it is therefore of particular importance to prevent infection of health care staff: the better they are protected, the safer it is for the vulnerable people who care for them, and the more so It is easier to ensure that health facilities can remain fully occupied during the pandemic.
Given the need to protect health workers and the populations they care for, Los Angeles County is issuing a health officer order to align with state orders requiring vaccinations for health workers by September 30th.
The district ordinance will also include three additional groups of health workers: paramedics and paramedics, home care workers, and dental office workers. In the coming weeks, the county will work closely with healthcare partners and workers to develop an effective education and implementation strategy.
Public Health has confirmed 22 new deaths and 2,622 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 22 new deaths reported today, five deceased were over 80 years old, five deceased were between 65 and 79 years old, five deceased were between 50 and 64 years old, five deceased were between 30 and 49 years old, and two The deceased were between 18 and 29 years old. To date, Public Health has identified 1,331,859 positive cases of COVID-19 in all areas of LA County and a total of 24,805 deaths.
Test results are available for nearly 7,530,000 people, 16% of whom tested positive. Today’s test positive rate is 4.6%.
“We share our deepest condolences with all those who mourn the loss of friends, loved ones and family, and wish you healing and peace,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We prefer COVID-19 vaccination for anyone eligible as there is growing evidence that these vaccines are effective, safe and are the most powerful tool to end the pandemic. That is why we work so hard to ensure barrier-free access to vaccinations. For this reason, we also prefer targeted vaccination orders, as this is the tool that offers us the greatest protection against the spread of COVID-19. High vaccination rates allow us to stay completely open and protect those who are not yet eligible or who may be vaccinated. “
On Wednesday, August 11th, at 6 p.m., Public Health will host a virtual town hall on the topic of COVID-19. Join the City Hall for the latest updates on COVID-19. The town hall will be broadcast live on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @lapublichealth. For more information and to ask a question, visit: TinyURL.com/LACountyTownHall.
If you are eligible for COVID-19 vaccination but have not yet been vaccinated, you should get vaccinated now. LA County continues to offer vaccines in many different locations across the county to make it as easy as possible for eligible LA County residents to get vaccinated. Vaccinations are always free and available to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.
Anyone 12 and older who lives or works in LA County can get the COVID-19 vaccine. To find a vaccination center near you, to make an appointment at a vaccination center and much more, visit:
www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or are over 65 years of age, you can call 1-833-540-0473 to make an appointment, get free transportation to and from a vaccination site. or schedule a house call when you are at home.
Submitted by Public Health
Comments are closed.