The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health or Public Health May 3, reported no new deaths and 255 new cases of COVID-19. The number of cases and deaths are likely to reflect reporting delays over the weekend. To date, Public Health has reported 1,233,985 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,914 deaths.
There are 390 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 23% of these people are in the ICU. This is the first time hospitalizations dropped below 400 since the beginning of the pandemic
There are a total 56 school sites serving as vaccination sites where teens and their families can go and get vaccinated. Being able to vaccinate students, their families and community residents at schools is a very important strategy for reaching teens.
In early April, Pfizer submitted a request to the Food and Drug Administration to approve its vaccine for ages 12 to 15 years old. To prepare for this change, Public Health is urging providers to consider expanding the range of vaccines they are delivering to include Pfizer. The county is able to break up dose allocations of Pfizer into smaller numbers to help support any vaccine provider that is able to make this vaccine available to patients without the concern for waste.
While children have not suffered the same levels of illness and deaths during the pandemic as adults, unfortunately the County has seen children get severely ill and hospitalized with COVID-19. Similarly, hospitalizations in young people have risen and fallen alongside adult hospitalizations. At the high point in mid-December, pediatric hospitalizations peaked at 68 patients per week, compared to a peak of nearly 8,000 total patients hospitalized at the peak. In April, as more L.A. County schools have reopened, there has been a slight rise in youth hospitalizations from the recent low point. Protecting children from infection and complications, especially those not eligible for vaccinations, remains a high priority as we enter the summer months.
The County has seen fewer pediatric deaths than deaths of adults during this pandemic. Out of the nearly 24,000 total COVID-19 deaths, five children in L.A. County have died as a result of COVID-19 infection: one child in the 0-4 age group, and 4 children between the ages of 12 and 17. Two of these children died from multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) complications.
Although most children who have MIS-C survive their illness, there have been 36 deaths from MIS-C nationally among 3,185 cases reported. To date, Public Health has confirmed 180 children with MIS-C including two child deaths in L.A. County.
In L.A. County, the peak in reports of MIS-C occurred in late-January, about one month after the peak in adult COVID-19 cases. MIS-C has not affected all children in L.A. County equally. Although 56% of L.A. County’s pediatric population are Latino/Latinx, 74% of MIS-C cases occurred in Latinx children, while the rest are evenly divided between Black/African American and White children. Thirty-one percent of MIS-C cases occurred in children who are obese or overweight, while 9% occurred in children with chronic respiratory disease.
These disparities in the distribution of MIS-C highlight the need to ensure that everyone supports preventive measures like distancing, infection control and masking at schools with particular care in communities where there are greater risks of COVID-19 transmission.
Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a site near you. Everyone 16 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.
Details: www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.