As Additional Variant Cases Are Identified, Public Health Encourages Safety Measures and Vaccinations to Reduce Risk of Getting COVID-19 Infection

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health or Public Health has confirmed 35 new deaths and 439 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 1,229,998 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,702 deaths.

As of April 18, more than 6,488,391 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the County, including 4,176,360 first doses. Already, almost 2,312,031 million people have been fully vaccinated.

Over the past two and a half months, with vaccination campaigns aimed at increasing uptake in communities of color, the county has seen vaccine uptake increase 170% in Black communities, 151% among multiracial individuals, 130% in American Indian/Alaska Natives, 129% among Latinx residents, 91% among Asian residents, and 78% among White residents.

The county has now vaccinated about half of Asian, White, and American Indian/Alaska Native residents in L.A. County and have also made some important gains in vaccinating multiracial community members, where vaccinations increased from 11% to 37% with one dose.  In Latinx residents, the vaccinated proportion of the population increased more than fourfold of what it was two months ago, and in Black residents, the proportion increased more than threefold. 

Over the course of the pandemic leading up to the very early days of the vaccine rollout, the county saw about 1 in every 10 L.A. County residents get infected with COVID-19 – and that’s a very low-end estimate of the real numbers, given how many people who were infected but didn’t get tested for one reason or another. During that same period, Public Health saw about 1 in every 500 L.A. County residents die from COVID-19.

Looking at the data on breakthrough infections after vaccination that the CDC released last week, the risk of infection in people who are fully vaccinated was 1 in 13,275 – much less common than 1 in 10 infected with COVID-19 who were not vaccinated. And the risk of death goes from 1 in 500 to 1 in a million.

If you’re taking a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, getting the second dose is important. Although one vaccine gives you 50% to 80% protection, the second dose offers nearly 100% protection from getting a severe case of COVID-19.  Make sure you show up for your appointment for your second dose, and if you don’t have an appointment, please contact your vaccination provider to schedule a time to receive your second dose. As a reminder, if you received Moderna for your first dose, you need to get Moderna for your second dose; if you received Pfizer the first time, you will need a Pfizer vaccine the second time. Your vaccination card tells you which vaccine you received. For those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you are done. It is one dose, you wait two weeks and you are fully protected.

Public Health continues to identify variant cases in Los Angeles County. The two most commonly circulating variants of concern in L.A. County have been and remain the UK (B.1.1.7) and California (B.1.427/429) variants. Of the 59 specimens analyzed by the L.A. County Public Health Laboratory in the past week, 50% were the UK variant and 10% were the California variant. Most of the specimens analyzed were associated with clusters of cases, and where specimens were sequenced from larger outbreaks, the UK variant is currently identified more often than other virus variants. The Public Health Laboratory did not detect any additional Brazil (P.1) variants last week, although it is likely there are undetected cases of this variant circulating in our region.

The identification of these variants highlights the need for L.A. County residents to continue to take measures to protect themselves and others including wearing a mask, maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from those who do not live in your household, and getting the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you can. All currently available information indicates that vaccines appear to be highly effective in preventing transmission, hospitalizations, and deaths, even with the increased presence of variants.

Everyone living or working in L.A. County 16 and older is eligible for COVID-19 vaccine. To learn how to make an appointment, what verifications people will need to show at the vaccination appointment, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com  (Spanish). Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

Details: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.