Almost All L.A. County Nursing Homes Received First COVID-19 Vaccines

Elderly Care Facility (Photo – Etan J. Tal. file)

L.A. County Health Department reports 335 of 340 (nearly 99%) of all skilled nursing facilities in the County received and administered their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

By News Desk

Nearly 39,000 doses have been administered to staff and residents. The remaining facilities are currently vaccinating or are scheduling vaccinations this week. Additionally, for facilities that completed their first doses, Public Health is supporting distribution and administration of their second doses of vaccine.

All skilled nursing facilities in the County conduct weekly testing of residents and staff. For the week of January 2, more than 70,000 COVID-19 tests were completed among staff and residents. A total of 2,532 people tested positive for COVID-19; 1,423 new cases among residents and 1,109 new cases among staff; this is a positivity rate of just under 4% and significantly lower than the positivity rate among the general public (15%).

Public Health remains in regular contact with skilled nursing facilities and provides facilities with technical assistance, guidance, emergency supplies of personal protective equipment, and COVID-19 vaccine and testing support. The proportion of deaths occurring among residents at skilled nursing facilities has dropped from 50% last summer to under 7% this winter.