UKCOVID-19 Variant spread in Los Angeles. Vaccine limited to the second vaccination

Los Angeles, CA — A reduction in coronavirus cases across Los Angeles has finally brought relief to hospitals and morgues in the area, but this week with signs of widespread infectious variants. The number of health authorities is increasing rapidly.

Health officials in Los Angeles County confirmed a fifth local case of a British variant of COVID-19 on Monday. Highly contagious variants are expected to become the predominant variants in the spring and may undo recent advances in slowing the spread of the disease. At the same time, the county’s vaccination efforts are showing a difficult trend. In short, the affected minority communities in the region are vaccinated at a significantly lower rate than the white and Asian populations.

Distrust of vaccines remains high, according to a minority community survey, but the failure of inequality in efforts to reach the communities in need of help was said Monday.

Barbara Ferrer, director of public health, called the inequality alarming. She said the county would make changes to do a better job of reaching the minority community.

“Surprisingly, black residents receive only 3.5% of the total dose, highlighting the apparent inadequacy of vaccine deployments to date,” Feller said. “In the Latin community, which has experienced the highest cases, hospitalizations and mortality rates, only 14% of Latino people (aged 65 and over) have been vaccinated so far,” she said.

“We work with community partners to address the need to not only vaccinate everyone quickly, but also to facilitate access to nearby sites and improve access to accurate information about vaccines. “She said.

Of the more than 1.28 million vaccines given in Los Angeles County, whites and Hispanics each robbed 25%, Asians 18%, and blacks only 3.5%. According to the US Census Bureau, these numbers make up more than 48% of the population, dramatically underestimating Hispanics among vaccinated people. Similarly, blacks make up more than 8% of the population, but less than 4% of vaccinated people.

County director Hilda Solis did not hide her frustration on Monday.

“There’s still a lot to do,” she said.

“This is completely unacceptable and we will share some of these changes in vaccine deployment in the coming days to ensure that it is truly fair,” Solis said. “Frankly, I’m disappointed. I call on all of us, our departments and healthcare providers, to take responsibility for ensuring that vaccines reach the people who need them most.”

Community skepticism remains part of the problem, but it does not fully explain the inequality.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, only 43% of blacks say they will be vaccinated if possible. But in Los Angeles, “Black residents have the lowest immunization rate of all racial and ethnic groups, at 7.2%, which is less than half of white residents and three minutes of Pacific Islands. It’s one of them, “said Feller. If the Pew Research Center study applies, many black residents seeking vaccination could not be vaccinated in Los Angeles.

County officials have vowed to increase their reach of the minority community, but inequality will not improve soon.

The numbers vary as the overall supply of vaccines continues to be in short supply. Limited dose availability limits five large vaccination sites in the remaining counties this week to only give a second dose to those who have already received the first injection. This means that if you’re still looking for your first vaccination, you’ll find it hard to find an appointment, although some are available at other vaccine locations.

County officials said they wanted to increase their weekly allocation of vaccines. That way, more injections will be available to those who are about to receive the first dose. The county wants to get more than 218,000 vaccinations this week, starting from just under 185,000 last week, Feller said.

Case numbers continue to decline in the county, with only 2,741 new infections reported on Monday, but delays in reporting on weekends tend to artificially lower numbers at the beginning of the week. Long Beach reported another 247 cases on Monday, and Pasadena health officials added another 35. These new infections have boosted the county-wide case count to 1,149,346 since the pandemic began almost a year ago.

County health officials also reported an additional 93 deaths from COVID-19, with 8 in Long Beach and 3 in Pasadena, increasing the total death toll to 18,146.

According to state statistics, as of Monday, 4,079 people were admitted to the county with COVID-19, about half the number seen in early January during the peak of the winter surge. There were 1,193 patients in the intensive care unit due to the virus.

City News Service contributed to this report.