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Most LA County Adults Could Be Vaccinated By This Summer — If We Double The Pace
A healthcare worker at UCI Health Center is vaccinated against COVID-19. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)
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Health officials say there are some promising trends in Los Angeles County's latest COVID-19 numbers.
The county recorded more than 9,000 new cases, but the latest seven-day average is 30% lower than last week's. The positivity rate has dropped to 12.7%, a nearly 40% drop from three weeks ago. And the number of hospitalizations dropped for the second day in a row, to just over 7,000 patients.
The death rate remains high; the county reported another 256 new fatalities.
Hospital admissions for those with COVID-19 have been steadily declining since peaking at over 8,000 patients at the beginning of the month, but officials stressed that the overall number of cases and deaths remain alarmingly high.
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Meanwhile, the county is still lagging on the vaccine rollout, since many doses coming in for next week and beyond need to be put aside for people's second shots. That will mean fewer doses for people lining up to get their first shot.
Dr. Paul Simon, the chief science officer for the L.A. County Department of Public Health, says if the county's allotment goes up to half a million doses each week, about 75% of the county's adult population could be immunized by mid-summer.
"However, if the flow of doses into the county remains at the current level of approximately 150,000 doses per week, the vaccination effort will likely extend well into 2022."
So far, fewer than 5% of people in L.A. County's Phase 1A group have received both shots to fully inoculate them against COVID-19.
OVERALL LOOK AT THE NUMBERS:
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