Although we are still in a period of “high” transmission, according to LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, there are some signs that the current Delta variant surge is starting to dip a bit, with a small downturn in daily case rates, as shown in the graph above. But there is much more COVID-19 news this week as well…from new mask and vaccine requirements to Pfizer vaccine approval, upcoming additional doses, and more.
Numbers
Over the last 10 days or so, since our last update, new COVID infections and hospitalizations have remined at or near their highest points in months…but both numbers may have peaked within the last week.
LA County COVID Cases, Deaths & Hospitalizations - August 10-23, 2021
| Date | New Cases | Deaths | Current Hospitalizations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/10/21 | 2,622 | 22 | 1,503 |
| 8/11/21 | 3,498 | 28 | 1,573 |
| 8/12/21 | 3,865 | 23 | 1,648 |
| 8/13/21 | 3,810 | 19 | 1,645 |
| 8/14/21 | 4,229 | 21 | 1,627 |
| 8/15/21 | 3,365 | 8 | 1,650 |
| 8/16/21 | 2,426 | 5 | 1,653 |
| 8/17/21 | 2,907 | 30 | 1,679 |
| 8/18/21 | 4,046 | 34 | 1,754 |
| 8/19/21 | 3,239 | 35 | 1,790 |
| 8/20/21 | 3,361 | 31 | 1,786 |
| 8/21/21 | 3,891 | 31 | 1,775 |
| 8/22/21 | 2,781 | 10 | 1.746 |
And even though daily cases may no longer be rising each day, Ferrer noted in a press conference on Thursday, August 19, that we are still in a period of “high” transmission, according to CDC definitions.
While the overall numbers are still high, however, there is definitely good news for those who are fully vaccinated. According to Ferrer, while the vaccines are not 100% effective (as fully expected), they are definitely working, with less than one half of one percent of fully vaccinated individuals testing positive for COVID, only .014% of fully vaccinated individuals hospitalized with COVID, and only .0013% of fully vaccinated individuals dying of COVID.
And the differences in case rates, hospitalizations and deaths between the vaccinated and unvaccinated are obvious across all age groups:
Vaccination Progress
With continuing evidence that the vaccines are working extremely well, health officials continue to work hard at increasing the number of people who are fully vaccinated. Locally, the percentage of vaccinated individuals is still creeping along very slowly, but it is definitely moving. And it’s worth a special shout-out to the Brookside neighborhood this week, where 99% of adults 16 and over are now fully vaccinated. The next closest neighborhood, Hancock Park, at 81.3%, still trails Brookside by 17.3 percent. And Carthay is the only other local area over 80%,with 80.5% fully vaccinated.
Overall in Los Angeles County this week, 72.1% of those ages 12 and up have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 63% are fully vaccinated.
Other Big News
Vaccines have been much in the news for other reasons this week, too, with some major developments including:
- The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on August 19 to require all city employees to show proof of vaccination by October 19. Exemptions will be allowed (and regular testing required instead) for those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons, but no other waivers will be available. The rule will also apply to all future city employees.
- Third vaccine doses are now approved by the FDA for certain groups of immunosuppressed people, who may not have had a robust enough immune response to the first two shots. These include transplant patients, those currently receiving certain cancer treatments, those with advanced HIV infections, and others taking immunosuppressent drugs.
- Beginning in September, booster shots will also be recommended for most other people who received their initial shots at least eight months earlier. Rollout of the boosters will likely follow the same kind of age-based schedule as the original vaccine doses.
- And finally, just today, the FDA announced that it has granted full (not just emergency) use approval to the two-dose Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, which officials hope will make mandatory vaccinations more acceptable to more people and businesses. “Mandating becomes much easier when you have full approval,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio of Emory University, quoted in an LA Times story today. “I think a lot of businesses have been waiting for it.”
Also, in addition to vaccines, masks are still proving to be extremely useful in slowing the spread of COVID-19, and several new mask and/or vaccine rules have also been announced both locally and statewide this week. They include:
- All California health care workers will now be required to be vaccinated by September 30 (with exemptions and testing alternatives only for those with medical and religious prohibitions).
- Masks will be required at all LA county outdoor “mega-events” (those with more than 10,000 attendees), including concerts, sports events, and more.
- California will also now require vaccine verifications (or negative test results within the past 72 hours) at all indoor events with more than 1,000 attendees, unless actively eating or drinking. (Places of worship are exempt from this requirement.)
Schools
Of course, many local public schools welcomed students back to the classroom last week, and many independent schools are starting up this week. Schools are required to do baseline testing for all students, and that round of testing turned up more than 3,600 positive results at LAUSD schools…a number that sounds quite large, but actually represents only .8% of the more than 600,000 students and staff tested. And now that school is open, all students and staff must continue to be tested weekly, and present a daily health attestation before being admitted to class.
For those who would like to know how their local public school is doing from day to day, LAUSD has also launched a new online Safe Steps to School COVID report card, where you can look up test results/active cases for any school in the district, with results updated daily. LA County will soon launch a similar school reporting tool, including an interactive map that will allow you click on any school site to see COVID data for that school.
Finally, LAUSD also announced that it, too, will require all teachers and staff to be vaccinated by October 15. In a statement released on Friday, August 13, LAUSD interim superintendent Megan K. Reilly said:
“The science is clear — vaccinations are an essential part of protection against COVID-19,” Reilly said in a statement. “To date, our safety measures include daily health checks for everyone going onto school campuses, masks, comprehensive COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and isolation of cases, hand sanitizer, increased sanitization/cleaning of schools and upgraded ventilation. This additional step goes above local and federal health guidelines in order to provide another layer of safety in our schools, especially for our youngest learners.
“We deeply care about all of our employees. We appreciate everyone’s commitment to maintaining the safest possible environment for the students and families we serve.”
