Vaccination site at PCC (Photo – Roberta Martínez)
On Monday, May 10, 2021, L.A. County reached the grim milestone of 24,003 deaths serving as a reminder of the devastation experienced over the past 15 months.
By News Desk
L.A. County Health Department today confirmed 4 new deaths and 179 new cases of COVID-19. The lower number of cases and deaths may reflect reporting delays over the weekend. Of the 4 new deaths reported today, one person that passed away was over the age of 80, two people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, and one person who died was between the ages of 18 and 29.
To date, Public Health identified 1,235,797 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. There are 389 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for nearly 6,590,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 0.6%.
Vaccinations
As of May 7, more than 8,492,810 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of these, 5,146,142 were first doses and 3,346,668 were second doses.
The County is making progress vaccinating seniors in racial and ethnic groups hardest hit by the pandemic. Sixty-two percent of Black/African American adults 65 or older have received at least one dose of vaccine, as have 64% of Latino/Latinx seniors, 71% of American Indian/Alaska Native seniors, and 76% of Asian seniors. Seventy-eight percent of White residents have received at least one dose. Sixty-eight percent of residents 65 and older are fully vaccinated.
Among adults 65 and over, nearly the same proportion of men (83%) and women (82%) are vaccinated. However, among people 16 and older there are disparities in vaccination by sex, with 62% of women having received at least one vaccine dose compared with 56% of men.
Today, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents 12 to 15 years of age. The Pfizer vaccine is already authorized for people 16 years old and older. Los Angeles County will offer the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) affirms the FDA recommendation, which can happen as early as Wednesday. All adolescents 12-17 will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian to get vaccinated.
There will be 185 mobile vaccinations sites scheduled throughout L.A. County. The percentage of the population the County needs to vaccinate to achieve community immunity is unknown, however Public Health estimates it’s probably around 80%. Currently, 400,000 shots each week are getting into the arms of L.A. County residents, and there are over 2 million more first doses to go before 80% of all L.A. County residents 16 and older have received at least one shot. At this rate, Public Health expects the County will reach this level of community immunity in mid- to late July and that assumes the County continues to at least have 400,000 people vaccinated each week. That would include both first doses that people need as well as their second doses.
To find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, visit: VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.
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