Bivalent Booster Vaccination Rates Remain Low, County Shows Possible Signs of Winter Surge

There continues to be signs in LA County that there may be a winter surge in new cases of COVID-19. As Public Health observes an increase in case rates and a change in early indicators, it’s important to mitigate the potential impact on the health care system, high risk residents, and the community.

LA County, Nov. 11, reports a seven-day average of 1,300 cases reported per day, a 24% increase from the 7-day average of 1,050 cases reported per day last week. There has been a steady increase in this number since Nov.1. As expected, the county is seeing an increase in the average number of daily hospital admissions. This past week, there was an average of 77 admissions per day, an 18% increase from the 65 admissions per day the week before. The current case rate is now 86 new cases per 100,000 individuals.

Of the eight early alert signals that are consistently monitored to understand changes in COVID-19 transmission, three metrics are of medium concern this week and one metric is of high concern. This is a significant change from Nov. 1, when two metrics were of medium concern and the remaining six were in low concern.

The number of new outbreaks in skilled nursing facilities over the past seven days is now at 21, surpassing the threshold for high concern. Public Health is working to get people in skilled nursing facilities vaccinated with the updated booster. Currently about 50% of residents have been vaccinated with the bivalent booster. The seven-day average for percent of emergency department encounters classified as COVID-19 related also increased to 5%, meeting the threshold for medium concern. In addition, the number of TK-12 school outbreaks increased from nine to 14 this week, putting it in the category of medium concern, and the percent of specimens sequenced that are identified as a new subvariant of interest, currently tracking for BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 is at 17%.

Another area of significant concern is the very low number of residents 65 or older who have received an updated bivalent booster dose. At 23%, it is far below the 60% needed to meet the threshold for adequate.

Additionally, the lowest uptake is among the younger age groups, with children ages 5-11 and 12-17, bivalent booster rates are 4% and 5% respectively.

Residents can visit ph.lacounty.gov/howtogetvaccinated to find options for getting the updated booster and, if needed, their primary COVID-19 vaccine series. There are over 1,000 sites across LA County where you can get vaccinated. As we head into the holiday season, with many opportunities to gather, consider layering in the protections needed to safeguard the most vulnerable person or people at your gatherings. Continue to use mitigation strategies that work against many respiratory viruses, including wearing a high quality, well-fitted mask when you are indoors and testing before gathering

Details: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov