Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Los Angeles County have continued trending downward, health officials said Saturday, Sept. 25, providing some reassurance that higher vaccination rates and safety precautions at Labor Day celebrations helped avert the usual increase in cases experienced after major holidays.
Health officials also reported Saturday that Los Angeles County had moved from the “high” transmission level to the less-severe “substantial” level, based on thresholds from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with a weekly case rate of 86 new cases per 100,000 residents. To get to the next lowest level — “moderate” transmission — the number of weekly cases as to drop below 50 per 100,000.
The county reported 1,602 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday, a slight increase from the day before, and 29 additional deaths — and slight decrease from Friday. The county also saw another slight decline in hospitalizations related to the coronavirus.
Hospitalizations have declined 17% over the last week’s numbers, and after a long plateau, deaths have also declined slightly.
“While we are seeing important gains in our efforts to reduce community spread of COVID-19,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement, “we cannot afford to be complacent given the very real risks posed by this virus.”
The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals dropped for the 24th time in the last 26 days on Saturday, declining from 956 to 947, according to state figures.
The number of those patients in intensive care fell from 310 on Friday to 278.
Hospitalizations related to the virus had reached nearly 1,800 during the summer peak fueled by the delta variant.
Saturday’s test positivity rate was 1.3%.
Still, with autumn here and winter fast approaching, Ferrer said, folks must remain diligent.
“We still need to lower the number of new cases,” she said, “so that we enter the fall and winter seasons in the best possible shape to avoid the devastation we endured last year.
“We typically see respiratory viruses flourish with the colder weather and when we move activities indoors,” Ferrer added. “If we raise our vaccination rate, protect ourselves and others with masking, and use expanded testing to identify people who are infected early so they can isolate and their close contacts quarantine, we have a chance to avoid another winter surge like we suffered last year.”
As of Sept. 19, 92% of LA County residents 65 years of age or older had received at least one dose of vaccine. And 78% of residents at least 16 years old and 77% of residents 12 years and over had been partially or fully vaccinated. Sixty-eight percent of residents 12 years and over have been fully vaccinated.
Booster shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination, meanwhile, have officially become available in Los Angeles County for select residents, with federal health officials giving final approval to the additional vaccine dose to bolster virus protection for higher-risk groups.
“Eligible Los Angeles County residents can begin receiving their booster dose at any of the hundreds of sites offering the Pfizer vaccine,” Ferrer said Friday. “The booster dose offers enhanced protection for those fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine six months ago who are at increased risk of getting COVID-19 and/or experiencing severe illness from COVID.”
An advisory panel for the CDC on Thursday recommended Pfizer booster shots for people 65 and older, those in long-term care facilities and people 50-64 with underlying health conditions, as well as select people aged 18-49 with serious health issues.
Booster shots are only available for people who received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago. Boosters have not yet been approved for people who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Appointments for booster shots can be made through the state’s MyTurn website. Appointments can also be made directly at pharmacies or clinics that offer Pfizer vaccines.
Ferrer has noted that the county has 1,300 fixed vaccination sites, along with 400 mobile clinics, meaning there’s a local capacity to administer 130,000 shots per day, so the county is well-positioned to handle demand for booster shots.