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LOS ANGELES – The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals continued to decline on Saturday, from 1,125 on Friday to 1,070, according to state figures.
The number of these intensive care patients also declined, from 337 to 324.
The county also reported 29 new deaths and 2,130 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the county’s cumulative total to 1,442,808 cases and 25,828 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Of the 29 deaths reported on Saturday, three people who died were over 80, nine were between 65 and 79, seven were between 50 and 64 and seven were between 30 and 49. Three deaths have been reported by the city of Long Beach.
Health officials said about 90% of people who died from complications from coronavirus in Los Angeles County had underlying health issues.
Test results were available for more than 8,450,000 people, including 16% of those who tested positive. The positivity rate for Saturday’s tests was 1.3%.
“With hundreds of outreach teams and promoters spread across the county, we hope that those who are not yet vaccinated will receive answers to their questions and be connected to vaccination sites,” said the director of health. public, Barbara Ferrer. “We cannot afford to be complacent with an average of 2,000 new cases and dozens of deaths every day. In order to be better prepared for fall and winter, usually seasons when many viruses thrive, we must immediately reduce the transmission of COVID. Given the powerful tools at our disposal that we did not have last fall – rapid antigenic tests and highly effective vaccinations – the high number of cases is disturbing and reflects the inequality in vaccination coverage and screening.
Ferrer said on Friday officials had set up the network to offer COVID-19 vaccine boosters to eligible people, adding that she was not surprised by a federal recommendation to limit recalls to older residents and those at high risk of serious illness from the virus.
During an online briefing, Ferrer said the county has 1,300 fixed vaccine sites in its network, with the overall capacity to administer 130,000 injections per day – and can quickly expand if necessary to 200,000 per day. day.
But access to booster shots is dependent on US Food and Drug Administration approvals. An FDA committee on Friday recommended that booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine be limited to people 65 years of age and older and those at particularly high risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19.
“The FDA has indicated over the past two weeks that it is looking for more information and more data, especially information on experiences in this country and not relying as much on experiences and data from other countries, ”Ferrer said. noted. “And we appreciate their due diligence. It gives us all a sense of security that they are looking very carefully at the evidence when making their recommendations. “
She said data from the county indicates that there are “vulnerable groups who could benefit from an additional recall.”
“We have already noted in our data as well as other national data that immunocompromised people do not show as effective a response (with vaccines),” Ferrer said. “I also showed data today that we are concerned about the elderly who are vaccinated, as they also have an increased tendency to come to the hospital after vaccination and potentially and unfortunately die. The numbers are still very low, but it does indicate that there is a higher risk in this age group.
The county continues to struggle as it strives to improve vaccination rates among certain groups. So far, only 52% of eligible black residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and only 61% of Latino / a residents. This compares to 71% of white residents and 80% of Asians.
Ferrer noted that “further outbreaks (in COVID cases) are likely in the absence of better immunization coverage.”
Across the county, 76% of eligible residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine and 67% are fully immunized. Of the 10.3 million people in the county, including those 12 and under who are not eligible for injections, 65% have received at least one dose and 58% are fully immunized.
Hoping to increase vaccination rates, the county will begin enforcing vaccine requirements next month in large event venues and high-risk environments such as indoor bars, breweries, etc. nightclubs, wineries and distilleries.
A new order from the county health official issued on Friday will require proof of vaccination for all customers and employees at these indoor facilities. All customers and employees will need at least one dose of vaccine by October 7 and a second dose by November 4.
The new order will also require all attendees and employees at outdoor mega-events with 10,000 or more people to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours. This requirement, which goes into effect on October 7, will affect all major outdoor sporting events and will also impact major theme parks, such as Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Attendees of mega indoor events of 1,000 people or more must already show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test.
Ferrer, who announced the order on Wednesday, reiterated on Friday that the goal was to increase vaccination rates while reducing the risk of transmission of the virus in high-risk settings, hopefully avoiding a repeat of the surge in cases the county experienced last winter.
“I know none of us want to go back to last winter,” Ferrer said. “So whatever people can do right now to create a lot of security that reduces transmission is kind of the name of the game. We started with these very high risk circles. Our hope is that we start to see less transmission and with that comes a much faster acceleration in the number of people getting vaccinated.
“… If we end up where we were last year, we will all have a lot of problems,” she said.
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