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COVID-19 cases have plummeted since the vaccines became widely available in the spring — but racial gaps persist.
New data released by the L.A. County Public Health Department shows that cases, hospitalizations and deaths among Black Angelenos are much higher than for Asians and white people.
“This is now a pandemic of unvaccinated people,” said public health director Barbara Ferrer.
In four weeks between May and June, cases, hospitalizations and deaths all dropped, but racial gaps remained.
“While the death rate among Black residents decreased by about three quarters, it's now four times higher than the death rate among Asian residents and twice as high as the death rate among white residents,” Ferrer said.
She reminded employers they can still require workers and customers to wear masks under the state health and Cal/OSHA rules.
“At many indoor sites, it will continue to make sense to require universal mask wearing and distancing to prevent exposures to the virus,” Ferrer said.
Racial gaps also persist in L.A.’s vaccination rates. About 73% of Asians have gotten the shots, followed by 64% of Whites and 51% of Latinos. Black residents remain the least likely to be vaccinated, with just 43% of people over the age of 16 choosing to get the shots.
About 56% of people in L.A. County are fully vaccinated.
