For Immediate Release:

May 04, 2023

As many residents look forward to graduations, vacations and other summertime activities, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is asking everyone to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations. For everyone 6 years and older, being up to date means they have had one dose of the bivalent vaccine. For those who are over 65 years old and/or immunocompromised, a second dose is available to provide even greater protection.

Bivalent vaccines are free and readily available to residents throughout Los Angeles County, including people who have difficulties leaving their home to get to a vaccination site.

Public Health helps thousands of residents get and stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters with its Homebound Vaccination Program. Through this free service, Public Health has vaccinated 8,786 residents and administered 14,500 doses since March 2021. Nearly 60% of the clients vaccinated by the homebound program lived in high-risk ZIP codes for poor COVID-19 outcomes. More than 80% of the people who have used this service are ages 60 and older.

The Homebound Vaccination Program is free and easy to use. Residents are asked to call 1-833-540-0473 between 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. every day of the week to request an appointment or go online to ph.lacounty.gov/vaxathome or ph.lacounty.gov/vacunacionencasa (en español). Public Health partners with community-based mobile health care providers, who will call to schedule an appointment, typically within two weeks, and show up at the resident’s home to vaccinate them, their caregivers and any household/family members upon request.

The bivalent vaccine has been shown to provide ample protection against hospitalization and severe illness as it targets more recent COVID-19 Omicron strains. When comparing individuals who are unvaccinated to individuals who received the bivalent vaccine, for the 90-day period ending April 10, people who were unvaccinated were nearly five times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly six times more likely to die from COVID-19. Even for people who were previously vaccinated, the bivalent vaccine still provides additional protection. During the same period, people with a dose of the bivalent vaccine were one-and-a-half times less likely to be hospitalized from a COVID-19 infection and nearly two times less likely to die than those vaccinated without a bivalent dose.

People who are ages 65 and older or immunocompromised are eligible for second bivalent boosters. Older adults can now receive a second bivalent booster four months after their first bivalent dose; and people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised can receive a second booster two months after their first. As of April 30, more than 372,000 adults 65 and older in Los Angeles County are now eligible for a second bivalent booster. Everyone ages 6 years and older, including those who are unvaccinated, should get one bivalent vaccine to be considered up to date. Some children ages 6 months to 5 years may also need one bivalent vaccine, depending on the number of doses they’ve previously received and their age.

COVID-19 numbers remain stable and low in Los Angeles County; however, in past years, Los Angeles County has seen a rise in COVID-19 transmission in late spring and summer months as the school year ends and summer festivities start. Public Health officials remain optimistic a summer uptick in cases can be minimized so long as residents take sensible precautions.

Testing can provide an important layer of protection by detecting asymptomatic infection or verifying that the symptoms are attributed to a COVID infection. This is especially important with the new XBB.1.16 strain, which may be associated with COVID-19 symptoms that could be easily confused with allergies.

Free COVID-19 at-home tests can be picked up at libraries and community organizations across Los Angeles County and at Public Health vaccination sites or ordered through the federal government. At this time, most insurance plans are still either providing free tests or reimbursing for the cost of up to eight purchases tests each month. More information on testing can be found at ph.lacounty.gov/COVIDtests.

XBB.1.5 remains the dominant COVID strain in Los Angeles County accounting for 73% of sequenced specimens for the week ending April 8. The second most dominant strain was XBB.1.9.1, accounting for 6.5% of sequenced specimens. Public Health continues to monitor new strains, including XBB.1.16. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that XBB.1.16 makes up 10.3% of cases in California and surrounding states. In LA County, XBB.1.16 accounted for 2.4% of recently sequenced specimens.

The weekly reported case count for COVID-19 remained relatively stable at 2,533 compared to 2,659 last week. The 7-day average number of COVID hospitalizations is 266 this week, similar to the 275 reported last week. Reported weekly deaths also remained stable at 51 deaths this week; this is similar to the 54 deaths reported last week.

Among reported deaths this week is one pediatric death. This marks a solemn milestone, the 25^th pediatric death in Los Angeles County from COVID-19.

“I offer my deepest condolences to families who have lost a loved one to COVID. My thoughts are with you as you grieve and I wish you peace,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. “Our data metrics are reassuring and allowing many of us to engage with less risk in the activities we love. In order for us to be able to understand the level of risk, it is important to continue monitoring patterns of transmission and severe illness, along with understanding when and how the virus is mutating. This makes it easier for each of us to increase or decrease the common-sense precautions we take to protect ourselves and others in our families, communities and at work. For those at higher risk for severe illness, common-sense precautions may always need to be taken and this includes being up to date with the bivalent booster to minimize, even during times of lower transmission, the risk of being hospitalized or dying. Each of us can help protect those at higher risk by staying away from others when sick, testing before gathering indoors with those at high risk, practicing good hand hygiene, and helping those at higher risk access needed resources. Free vaccines, tests and therapeutics remain available throughout the county.”

Los Angeles County remains in the CDC’s Low COVID-19 Community Level for the 16th consecutive week. This includes a weekly reported case rate of 25 new cases per 100,000 people. The 7-day total for new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 people is currently 3.1. And the 7-day average of the proportion of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients is now 1.5%.

As of Tuesday, May 2, there have been a total of 36,247 deaths in Los Angeles County.

Public Health is now reporting COVID data weekly. The following table shows the weekly reported case counts, average number of daily hospitalizations, and weekly reported death counts in Los Angeles County over the past four weeks.

Metric	Date of Weekly Report
	5/3/2023	4/26/2023	4/19/2023	4/12/2023
Weekly cases reported1	2,533	2,659	3,114	3,023
SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentration as a percentage of the Winter 2022-2023 peak concentration value2	13%	18%	14%	14%
7-day average number of COVID-positive hospitalizations3	266	275	328	348
7-day average of the percent of Emergency Department (ED) encounters classified as coronavirus-related4	3.0%	2.7%	3.0%	3.2%
Weekly deaths reported1	51	54	44	59
1) Weekly case and death counts represent the number of cases and deaths reported for the week ending each Tuesday. The date a case/death is reported by DPH is not the same as the date of testing or death.
2) Wastewater concentrations reflect the week ending each Saturday, with a one-week lag.
3) Hospitalization data represents average number of COVID-positive hospitalizations for the week ending each Tuesday. Data for past weeks is subject to change in future reports. 4) Emergency department data represents average number of coronavirus classified encounters for the week ending each Sunday. Data for past weeks is subject to change in future reports.

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov including:

· COVID-19 Locations & Demographics (data by demographic characteristics and geography, active outbreaks, and citations)

· COVID-19 Response Plan

· COVID-19 Vaccinations

· Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics

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: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

· CDC Spanish https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

· World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

· LA County residents can also call 2-1-1

For more information:

Cases through 12:00pm 5/1/2023
	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	3,738,769
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	3,534,674
-- Long Beach	163,920
-- Pasadena	40,175
Deaths	36,247
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	34,392
-- Long Beach	1,408
-- Pasadena	447
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	111,649
- 5 to 11	282,785
- 12 to 17	277,618
- 18 to 29	758,058
- 30 to 49	1,133,249
- 50 to 64	613,357
- 65 to 79	263,106
- over 80	92,459
- Under Investigation	2,393
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1,823,860
- Male	1,620,075
- Other	1,791
- Under Investigation	88,948
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	6,709
- Asian	263,109
- Black	185,543
- Hispanic/Latino	1,511,733
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	17,689
- White	490,612
- Other	405,381
- Under Investigation	653,898
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)	176,926
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	80
- Asian	4,476
- Black	3,224
- Hispanic/Latino	16,836
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	118
- White	9,148
- Other	417
- Under Investigation	93
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases	Case Rate
City of Agoura Hills	6332	30321
City of Alhambra	25414	29304
City of Arcadia	13648	23631
City of Artesia	5996	35701
City of Avalon	288	7444
City of Azusa	17498	34968
City of Baldwin Park	29637	38605
City of Bell	16982	46741
City of Bell Gardens	17095	39690
City of Bellflower	30745	39551
City of Beverly Hills	11553	33468
City of Bradbury	71	6642
City of Burbank	32790	30593
City of Calabasas	5825	23949
City of Carson	34906	37195
City of Cerritos	13317	26598
City of Claremont	10390	28478
City of Commerce*	5860	44839
City of Compton	40166	40205
City of Covina	20255	41310
City of Cudahy	12200	50109
City of Culver City	11922	29906
City of Diamond Bar	13638	23712
City of Downey	46725	40893
City of Duarte	7499	34062
City of El Monte	42685	36399
City of El Segundo	4066	24223
City of Gardena	21826	35599
City of Glendale	60226	29166
City of Glendora	15007	28442
City of Hawaiian Gardens	5001	34076
City of Hawthorne	29568	33302
City of Hermosa Beach	4728	24037
City of Hidden Hills	382	20212
City of Huntington Park	26292	44200
City of Industry	1013	231808
City of Inglewood	38688	34062
City of Irwindale	882	60452
City of La Canada Flintridge	4532	21901
City of La Habra Heights	213	3905
City of La Mirada	14202	28634
City of La Puente	15974	39251
City of La Verne	9231	27736
City of Lakewood	26990	33586
City of Lancaster*	64132	39693
City of Lawndale	10578	31469
City of Lomita	6099	29423
City of Lynwood*	31174	43269
City of Malibu	2882	22236
City of Manhattan Beach	7436	20656
City of Maywood	12778	45556
City of Monrovia	11847	30534
City of Montebello	25441	39520
City of Monterey Park	17468	28056
City of Norwalk	42989	39944
City of Palmdale	66840	42046
City of Palos Verdes Estates	2264	16743
City of Paramount	22698	40516
City of Pico Rivera	28104	43718
City of Pomona	65550	42038
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	7748	18125
City of Redondo Beach	15565	22657
City of Rolling Hills	298	15361
City of Rolling Hills Estates	1530	18859
City of Rosemead	15209	27478
City of San Dimas*	11111	32191
City of San Fernando	12773	51897
City of San Gabriel	11444	27944
City of San Marino	2402	18091
City of Santa Clarita	73419	33308
City of Santa Fe Springs	7891	42970
City of Santa Monica	26392	28549
City of Sierra Madre	2412	21949
City of Signal Hill	4099	34746
City of South El Monte	8410	40268
City of South Gate	47132	48018
City of South Pasadena	6322	24266
City of Temple City	10740	29461
City of Torrance	34287	22970
City of Vernon	357	170813
City of Walnut	7566	24781
City of West Covina	39524	36517
City of West Hollywood	11282	30532
City of Westlake Village	449	5371
City of Whittier	31329	35832
Los Angeles	1526892	37751
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	3210	39137
Los Angeles - Alsace	4509	36231
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	0	0
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	849	33933
Los Angeles - Arleta	16912	49206
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	5081	34645
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	10228	32861
Los Angeles - Bel Air	2447	29031
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	3338	26651
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	4218	32020
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	40465	46574
Los Angeles - Brentwood	8421	27204
Los Angeles - Brookside	157	27022
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	2295	32229
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	25313	38771
Los Angeles - Carthay	4400	30634
Los Angeles - Central	17034	43686
Los Angeles - Century City	3758	29378
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	16289	48241
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	12924	34872
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	2558	27892
Los Angeles - Chinatown	2918	36380
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	5323	36577
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	4913	32423
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	5334	38571
Los Angeles - Crestview	3958	34817
Los Angeles - Del Rey	8423	28137
Los Angeles - Downtown*	16208	58923
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	13823	34916
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	9539	32571
Los Angeles - Echo Park	4503	31587
Los Angeles - El Sereno	16939	40516
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1844	32283
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	3574	35139
Los Angeles - Encino	15257	33775
Los Angeles - Exposition	1280	38485
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	18267	40668
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	1268	35222
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3797	43539
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	22867	48197
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	11006	34825
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	4167	38712
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	21555	37042
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	10065	46803
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	4752	27889
Los Angeles - Harbor City	9413	32380
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	15700	36009
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	648	26899
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	6158	34145
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	18023	47510
Los Angeles - Highland Park	17251	35649
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	5509	39719
Los Angeles - Hollywood	21694	31784
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	7692	26133
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	11962	41912
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	3150	39019
Los Angeles - Koreatown	16230	31397
Los #####