Los Angeles County reported 4,860 new cases of COVID-19 and 193 additional deaths on Saturday and confirmed nine new cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.
The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals was 4,607, with 28% of people in intensive care units.
The latest numbers have brought county totals since the pandemic began to 1,143,422 cases and 17,955 deaths, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
The latest cases of MIS-C bring the total number of infected children in the county to 75, including one death. MIS-C is an inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19, and symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed parts of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs.
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All 75 children with MIS-C in LA County were hospitalized and 44% were treated in the ICU. Of the 75, 32% were under the age of 5, 39% were between 5 and 11, and 29% were between 12 and 20. Latino children accounted for 76% of reported cases, the department said.
The daily number of new infections and the hospitalization rate have steadily fallen over the past month, but officials warn the public to be cautious for Sunday’s Super Bowl to avoid repeating last year’s World Series and NBA Finals at bar, restaurant and home meetings. private individuals have been accused of fueling a spike in COVID-19 cases.
“Despite seeing some declines, we continue to experience widespread community transmission in our county,” said public health director Barbara Ferrer. “The most risky thing people can do tomorrow for Super Bowl Sunday, given the large number of cases, is to gather with others who do not live with them to enjoy the game. Please do not attend or host parties that could turn Super Bowl Sunday into a super-spreader Sunday. Instead, enjoy playing at home with those who live with you or practically connect with friends and family online to prevent a further increase in cases. “
Meanwhile, county officials reported slow but steady progress in COVID-19 vaccination efforts on Friday, but said less than 3 percent of the population had been fully vaccinated, and appointments for the first doses would be difficult next week.
At the county’s five large-scale vaccination sites, a limited number of first doses will be given Monday, with the rest of the week’s appointments reserved exclusively for people in need of a second dose of medication, according to Dr. Paul. Simon, chief of the county health department.
Simon said that while the issue applies exclusively to the county’s five mega-sites, residents could face problems elsewhere, as all providers deal with short vaccine reserves.
“Unfortunately, the biggest problem we continue to face in terms of our vaccination capacity is the supply shortage and the variability in the amount of vaccine we receive each week,” said Simon. “This has been a problem all over the country and makes planning difficult.”
According to Simon, the latest figures indicate that so far more than 1.05 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the county, including just over 104,000 secondary doses. This means that 2.6% of the county’s population of people aged 16 and over has been completely vaccinated so far. About 11% of the population aged 16 and over received at least one dose.
The slow progress of the vaccination program has led some residents to become creative in finding ways to manipulate the dating system to gain access to photos.
Some people who are not yet eligible to receive the vaccine have begun to persist at vaccination sites with little chance of remaining doses at the end of the day, which must be given to avoid wasting them. Ferrer said this week that there have been problems with people claiming to be carers of children with disabilities who show up at vaccination sites with a generic letter, Xeroxed, identifying them as such.
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Simon pointed out another way in which some people tried to cross the line to receive vaccines. According to Simon, people who received emails from the county about scheduling a meeting for the second dose of vaccine shared with friends the unique web link included in the emails. Those people “then schedule an appointment with the first dose, even if they are not eligible for vaccination at this time.”
“It’s important for people to understand that these actions eliminate access to vaccination from high-risk people who are eligible for the vaccine right now,” Simon said. “When we identify these meetings, they are canceled. I want the public to be aware that people who are not eligible and who come to one of our sites with one of these joint meetings will be rejected. “
He said he did not have figures on the number of people who tried to cross the line in this way, but “it was happening enough that I noticed it very clearly.”
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“In some cases it was done very deliberately – I think you could characterize it as a scam,” he said. “And in other cases, I think people just, you know, didn’t necessarily see it that way, they were just looking at every vaccination opportunity. ”
Simon said the county is trying to find a way to change the computer system to prevent such appointments.
According to Simon, the county received 184,625 doses of vaccine this week, and Ferrer said earlier this week that the county anticipates a larger allocation next week, possibly over 200,000, but the size of weekly deliveries remains a mystery.
Simon expressed hope that the supply will continue to grow and welcomed the pending establishment of a vaccination site of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Cal State Los Angeles, which will supplement the local availability of doses. Possible approval in the coming weeks of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine will also be a major advantage, he said.