“There is urgency for those unvaccinated to get vaccinated, and for those eligible for an additional dose because of their age, underlying health conditions, or occupation, to get their booster,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health.
She continued, “We saw last year how damaging the virus can be and how colder weather and increased intermingling leads to more transmission. We are lucky that this year we have powerful vaccines that can effectively blunt transmission. However, there is only a small window of time still available to improve vaccination coverage across the county before the holiday season takes off.”
COVID-19 cases have decreased nationally among healthcare workers from 257 at the beginning of October to 166 towards the end of the month. Out of the more recent cases, 78 cases were reported among vaccinated healthcare workers and 88 among unvaccinated workers.
At the beginning of the pandemic, 46,376 healthcare workers and first responders tested positive for COVID-19. Most of the deaths among healthcare workers happened between July 2020 and February 2021 with 300 passing away to date. Since October 2, seven healthcare workers have passed away from COVID-19.
Public Health reported skilled nursing facilities are 95% fully vaccinated. Healthcare workers are required to be fully vaccinated and those with medical or religious exemption needing to be tested once or twice a week. Most hospitals and healthcare providers are reporting relatively high rates of vaccination among their employees.
On Monday, November 1, The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) reported 7 new deaths and stated 990 new cases of COVID-19. There were 672 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 with 15% of nearly 9,070,000 individuals testing positive with symptoms.
Public Health identified 1,494,119 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 26,644 deaths. Cases across the Southland: Los Angeles County shows 1,415,444 cases, Long Beach with 65,141 cases and Pasadena with 13,534 cases.
According to race and ethnicity, COVID-19 statistics show: American Indian/Alaska Native with 2,420; Asian with 67,706; Black with 68,130; Hispanic/Latino with 729,049; Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander with 5,216; White with 175,547; those of other race and ethnicity with 119,785 and 247,591 under investigation.
“Let’s do everything possible to make sure scores of people don’t spend the holidays away from those they love because they are sick or hospitalized with the virus,” said Ferrer.
For more detailed information on COVID-19 vaccination plans in L.A. County and to sign up for a vaccination newsletter, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com
For more information and statistics on COVID-19 in Los Angeles County, please visit http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/
Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:
*Los Angeles County Department of Public Health http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
*California Department of Public Health https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/ncov2019.aspx
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/index.html Spanish https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index-sp.html
*World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
*LA County residents can also call 2-1-1
