21 New Deaths and 4,229 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES, Calif. Aug 14 – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) has confirmed 21 new deaths and 4,229 new cases of COVID-19. Of the new deaths reported today, five people who died were over the age of 80, nine people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, three people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and three people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49 years old. One death was reported by the City of Pasadena.

To date, Public Health identified 1,347,023 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24,892 deaths. There are 1,627 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 23% of these people are in the ICU.

Testing results are available for over 7,668,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Cases have been reported at an average rate of more than 3,000 cases a day for about the past week; a rise in case numbers can be expected in the coming weeks with increased testing. Today’s daily test positivity rate is 3.96%, down 25% when compared to the 4.8% positivity rate last Saturday. This is likely to reflect the increased number of people completing routine screening tests.

With very high rates of community transmission, more fully vaccinated people are getting post-vaccination infections. However, infection rates show that unvaccinated people are almost four times more likely to get infected with COVID-19; the case rate for unvaccinated individuals is 243 cases per 100,000 people while the case rate for fully vaccinated people is 66 cases per 100,000 people. Being vaccinated also means that if someone gets infected, they are much less likely to get severely ill or die. Vaccinated people are about 14 times less likely to be hospitalized than their unvaccinated or partially vaccinated counterparts; the hospitalization rate for fully vaccinated people is slightly less than 1 hospitalization per 100,000 people. And almost no fully vaccinated people are dying from COVID. This data provides significant reassurance that fully vaccinated people remain at relatively low risk for becoming infected with COVID-19 and even lower risk for having a bad outcome if they are infected.

Of those who are become infected after they have been fully vaccinated, those most likely to end up in the hospital are people with chronic illnesses and weakened immune systems; for these people, taking the extra step of layering a mask on top of vaccinations is particularly important.

Additionally, Following the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approval of an additional dose of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for immunocompromised people, Los Angeles County began administering third doses to those who are eligible today. The FDA has amended the Emergency Use Authorization for these vaccines to allow for a third dose which can be administered at least 28 days following the second dose of the vaccine.

“For all those who are experiencing the sorrow of losing a loved one to COVID-19, our thoughts and prayers are with you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “During this time of high transmission of a very infectious variant, I want to caution everyone to take precautions, even vaccinated people. While there is clear evidence that risks are significantly reduced for vaccinated individuals, common-sense precautions are warranted by everyone at this time, in part because fully vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant can transmit the virus to other people. Fully vaccinated people are encouraged to use caution in crowded and indoor settings, especially around unvaccinated people outside of their household. Remember that distancing and masking add layers of protection. Fully vaccinated people are also encouraged to take extra precautions among people outside their household and assess how much risk there may be at events or activities they’re are planning to attend. Any fully vaccinated person that has symptoms of illness and/or a known or probable exposure should get tested, and while waiting for the results from testing, remain isolated from others.”

L.A. County continues to offer vaccines at many different sites across the county to make it as easy as possible for eligible L.A. County residents to get vaccinated. Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.