County officials provide updates and answer questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic for April 27th, 2021.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 4 new deaths and 288 new cases of COVID-19. The lower number of cases and deaths may reflect reporting delays over the weekend. To date, Public Health identified 1,231,806 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 23,777 deaths.

Of the four new deaths reported today, one person that passed away was over the age of 80, one person who died was between the ages of 65 and 79, and two people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64.

After hearing suggestions from many community partners about what is needed to make it easier for L.A. County residents to get vaccinated, since last Thursday, L.A. County has been offering walk-in vaccinations at all county-run mass vaccination sites. This will continue at least through Thursday, April 29, while supply lasts. Anyone 16 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated without booking an appointment at the county locations. You should bring a photo ID with you and teens 16 and 17 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

As of April 23, more than 7,000,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of these, 4,425,452 were first doses and 2,580,308 were second doses.

The vast majority (74.7%) of County residents over 65 have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Overall, 60% of L.A. County residents 65 and older are fully vaccinated. In comparison, 24% of people between the ages of 18 through 64 are fully vaccinated. The difference between these groups’ vaccination rates is in large part due to the much longer period of time seniors have been eligible for the vaccine compared with younger adults: seniors have been eligible since mid-January, while many younger adults who weren’t in eligible worker groups only became eligible for the vaccine in April. This information along with daily and total vaccination numbers in detail across the county, vaccine coverage by age groups, a time-lapse map, and more can be viewed on the COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard.

There are 407 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. With the majority of seniors now vaccinated, we are seeing fewer infected seniors hospitalized, and those that are hospitalized having better outcomes.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, hospitalizations have for months been higher among older adults than among younger adults. After months of declining very slowly, the percent of infected seniors being hospitalized abruptly dropped from 20% to below 13% just after senior vaccinations hit its stride. Meanwhile, the proportion of younger adults with COVID-19 who were hospitalized has remained about the same.

Public Health continues to deploy mobile vaccination teams to take vaccinations close to where people live who may have limited ability to get to one of the established vaccination sites. There are 111 mobile sites scheduled this week throughout L.A. County including at faith-based organizations, senior housing, food and agriculture sites, metro stations and at other community-based organizations. Mobile teams’ efforts continue to focus on the County’s highest-risk populations and the zip codes where inadequate housing, economic instability, and other factors contribute to lower levels of community health.

At least 230 faith-based congregations across L.A. County are partnering with Public Health to deliver vaccines in zip codes with high poverty rates. To date, partnerships with faith-based organizations have helped deliver nearly 30,000 total doses of vaccine. That’s more than twice than what this effort was projected to deliver back in March and includes more than 22,000 first doses and more than 6,500 second doses. Our faith-based initiatives are now on track to deliver more than 100,000 vaccines through these efforts.

Public Health will host a Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 Vaccines on Tuesday, April 27, at 6:00 p.m. Join the town hall to learn more and hear updates. The town hall will be streamed live on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @lapublichealth. For more information and to submit a question, visit: tinyurl.com/DPHVaccineTownHall

“Please know we keep everyone mourning the loss of a family member, friend, or co-worker from COVID-19 in our hearts and in our prayers during this time of great sorrow,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “On average, we are still losing 10 of our residents each day to this infection. The three vaccines we now have would prevent almost everyone vaccinated from getting infected, being hospitalized and dying. Just about everyone dying today from COVID-19 would be alive if they were fully vaccinated. While it has been a frightening year, filled with unknowns about this new virus and frequently-changing guidance about everything from masks to wiping down groceries, we do know that the three vaccines we are using are very safe. We know this because of real-time data collected from the nearly 140 million people already vaccinated in the United States, and a national vaccine safety program that works effectively to identify any rare and potentially serious side effects or adverse events as they happen.”

Los Angeles County’s case rate remains relatively low and stable. Between March 28 and April 18, the daily average number of reported cases decreased 13%, from 424 to 371. Over the same interval, daily average confirmed hospitalizations decreased from 658 to 474, a drop of 28%. Meanwhile, daily average deaths continue to significantly decline from 17 to 5; a 71% decrease in three and a half weeks.

Testing results are available for more than 6,443,000 individuals with 18% of people testing positive. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 0.7%.

Public Health is committed on ensuring an equitable distribution of vaccines and ensuring eligible residents and workers in hard hit communities have increased access to vaccines. Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to learn how to make an appointment at vaccination sites, what verifications people will need to show at your vaccination appointment, and much more. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.