LA County COVID-19 Hospitalizations Decrease Over 85% From January Peak – NBC Los Angeles

Los Angeles County reported 1,313 new cases of COVID-19 and 22 additional deaths on Sunday, bringing the county’s total to 1,203,152 cases and 22,029 deaths since the pandemic began.

According to state health officials, the number of coronavirus cases in LA County hospitals continued to decline, dropping to 1,132. This is a significant decrease from the peak of the winter surge of over 8,000 in early January.

According to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, the test results were available to about 5.9 million people, with 19% positive.

On Saturday, authorities reported 16 additional cases of multiple organ inflammatory syndrome in children, bringing a total of MIS-C cases in LA County to 116 children.

All 116 children of MIS-C were hospitalized and 41% were treated in the ICU. Of the children with MIS-C, 29% were under 5 years old, 43% were 5-11 years old, and 28% were 12-20 years old. Seventy-five percent of reported cases are Latino / Latino children.

MIS-C is an inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19. Symptoms include persistent fever and inflamed parts of the body such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, and gastrointestinal organs. If your child appears to have MIS-C symptoms, it is advisable to contact your primary care or emergency health care provider. Those without a primary care provider can dial 2-1-1 to help LA County connect them to one.

Meanwhile, county officials want to begin the end of a serious COVID-19 vaccine shortage, with the county receiving the largest vaccine allocation to date this week, with nearly two-thirds of its supply being first dosed. Used for administration.

The vaccine effort is led by the LA Times billionaire owner. Mekhalo Medina reported in NBC4 News on Sunday, March 7, 2021.

Dr. Paul Simon, Chief Science Officer of the County Public Health Department, said the county will be vaccinated this week with 312,000 doses, including 53,700 doses of the newly licensed Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Of the quota, 62% is used for the first dose-reversing the recent trend that most shots are reserved for people who need a second dose.

As of Friday, 2,415,460 doses of vaccine had been administered in the county, Simon said. This includes a second inoculation of 814,593 times. This means that many have been completely vaccinated.

Increased doses are welcome news in counties where the number of residents eligible to receive shots is increasing. This week, approximately 1.7 million key workers, including teachers, have been qualified, in addition to already qualified healthcare professionals and residents aged 65 and over.

And starting March 15, the county will expand its eligibility to everyone between the ages of 16 and 64, bringing about a fundamental health condition that makes it more susceptible to severe illness and death from COVID-19. Said to follow the guidance of.

However, according to Simon, county officials are still waiting for further guidance from the state on how to determine who falls into that eligibility category.

“We are a little worried because there are many health conditions on the list, and there is a” Disability “category at the end of the list, which allows someone to qualify. Disorders, for example, interfere with COVID’s access to medical services. There are some other criteria, but I think we need to define them a bit more clearly. “

Homeboy Industries has partnered with Shared Harvest to provide the COVID-19 vaccine. Michelle Valles reported in NBC4 News on Saturday, March 6, 2021.

He said that ideally people with such disabilities and health conditions would be able to get the vaccine from their doctor.

“In a large community (vaccine site) where people are involved and know nothing about their medical history, it’s challenging,” Simon said. Of course, those letters can be forged. “

On Thursday, health officials issued another warning for leisure trips, given the approaching spring break, and anyone leaving the area would need to be quarantined for 10 days when returning to Los Angeles County. I emphasized that there is.

“There is enough distance to reduce the infection in Los Angeles County, and additional resumptions may be allowed,” Feller said in a statement Thursday. Frankly, it can lead to another surge that is almost impossible to tolerate. Travel increases the risk of obtaining and spreading COVID-19. To avoid this, please continue your role to postpone and delay the spread of our recovery journey so that it is not hindered. “