LOS ANGELES, Calif. Sept 28 – COVID-19 school cases among students and staff are declining. In August, student cases increased from about 1,300 to a peak of nearly 2,800 cases the week ending August 22. The number of student close contacts – students identified as a close contact with a confirmed case – increased correspondingly to a peak of nearly 11,000 by the end of August. Since then, both student cases and contacts have decreased substantially; last week, the County saw about 530 student cases and nearly 2,800 student close contacts. Meanwhile, staff numbers have also decreased weekly from their high point of 452 staff cases and 498 staff close contacts in mid-August: last week, there were only 77 staff cases and 19 staff close contacts.
These downward trends are the consequence of the hard work of school administrators, teachers, and staff to implement vaccinations, masking, student cohorting, seating charts, and other preventive strategies, adding new layers of quality improvement to their workdays at everyone’s great effort. These improvements would not have been possible without the support of the parents, students and broader school communities who helped schools implement these safety measures.
Today, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) confirms 29 new deaths and 1,147 new cases of COVID-19. Of the 29 new deaths reported today, six people who passed away were over the age of 80, nine people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, six people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, and five people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49. Two deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena and one death was reported by the City of Long Beach.
To date, Public Health identified 1,456,275 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 26,047 deaths. As of September 20, the County is tragically seeing about 15 deaths a day, a 38% decline from the month earlier.
There are 908 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 31% of these people are in the ICU. This is a decrease of 126 daily hospitalizations over the prior week.
As of September 11, unvaccinated adults 50 and over were more than 16 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated adults over 50. Hospitalizations in younger unvaccinated adults between 18 to 49 years old were 29 times higher than hospitalization rates for vaccinated residents 18 to 49 years old.
Testing results are available for nearly 8,600,000 individuals with 16% of people testing positive. Today’s test positivity rate is 1.1%, a decrease from last week’s same-day rate of 1.4%.
Public Health is focused on increasing vaccination rates quickly to avoid future surges of cases. It is still most important to increase the numbers of first dose recipients; the only way to get to community immunity is to get more people vaccinated who have not yet received their first dose.
“We grieve alongside everyone who has suffered the loss of friends and families during this extraordinarily difficult time. Our prayers and hearts are with you,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “I stress the importance of getting ahead of future surges. It is not inevitable that we continue to experience these cycles of scary increases in cases. The entire premise of community immunity is to get enough people vaccinated to leave little room for virus transmission. To accomplish this, we each need to think about our own role differently. We are living during a raging, worldwide, deadly pandemic that can be most quickly ended with very high rates of vaccination coverage. These times ask each of us to step up to protect the health and the lives of our co-workers, neighbors, and those most vulnerable. My hope is that those who are being asked to get vaccinated now take to heart this opportunity to get us to the end of the pandemic.”
As of September 23, 92% of L.A. County residents 65 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, 78% of residents 16 and over and 77% of residents 12 and over. Sixty-nine percent of residents 12 and over have been fully vaccinated. Sixty-seven percent of L.A. County teens between the ages of 12 and 17 received at least one dose and 58% are fully vaccinated. Out of the nearly 10.3 million L.A. County residents, including those who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, 66% have received at least one dose, and 59% are fully vaccinated.
Last Friday, September 24, the County began administering booster doses as well as the additional doses administered to immunocompromised people. Although the numbers are not yet complete, Public Health received reports that nearly 14,500 boosters or additional doses were administered between September 24 and September 26. Countywide, nearly 92,000 additional/booster doses have been administered by L.A. County providers.
L.A. County continues to offer vaccines at more than 1,300 sites countywide and through the deployment of more than 400 mobile vaccination teams each week to make it as easy as possible for eligible L.A. County residents to get vaccinated. Over 700 fixed sites and almost all mobile team sites offer Pfizer vaccines, including first, second and third doses.
Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status. Anyone 12 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated. Boosters are available for eligible individuals at all sites offering the Pfizer vaccine. Appointments are not needed at all Public Health vaccination sites where first, second, and third doses are available.
Los Angeles County residents eligible for a booster dose of Pfizer include the following groups of people who received the second of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine series at least 6 months ago and are either:
People aged 65 years or older
Residents of long-term care facilities
People aged 18 to 64 years with underlying medical conditions
People aged 18 to 64 years with high institutional or occupational risk, including healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and day care staff, grocery workers, and workers and residents in homeless shelters or prisons, among others
While you don’t need an appointment at many places to get a first, second or third dose, it is very easy to make an appointment. You can go to MyTurn or to www.VaccinateLACounty.com to make an appointment.
Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) to find a vaccination site near you, make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more. If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment, connecting to free transportation to and from a vaccination site, or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound.
COVID-19 Sector Protocols, Best Practices, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, 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.
1月30日报道，美国总统特朗普今天表示，他将提名前美联储理事沃什（Kevin Warsh）担任下一任美联储主席，填补这一重要的经济政策职位。此前特朗普一直在推动降低利率。 沃什被提名为接替即将离任的美联储主席鲍威尔。鲍威尔因美联储降息速度缓慢而招致特朗普总统的强烈不满。特朗普总统称鲍威尔是“笨蛋”、“顽固不化的家伙”和“行动迟缓先生”，甚至曾考虑解雇他。 沃什今年早些时候曾表示，他对降息持开放态度，并且他对美联储近年来处理通货膨胀的方式提出了尖锐批评，认为美联储存在“信誉危机”，需要“改革”。但他同时也强调，美联储保持货币政策独立性“至关重要”。 沃什曾于2006年起担任美联储理事，任期五年。当时，前总统布什在金融危机爆发前不久任命他进入美联储。 如果沃什获得美国参议院批准，沃什将执掌美联储。此前几个月，美联储一直面临特朗普总统的巨大压力，要求大幅降息——此举可能刺激经济增长，但也存在引发通货膨胀加剧的风险。 自去年9月以来，美联储已降息三次，最近一次是在去年12月10日，但美联储官员在本月初的一份预测中表示，他们预计今年只会降息一次。 特朗普总统长期以来一直表示美联储应该考虑他的意见。去年12月12日，特朗普总统表示，在利率制定决策上，“我的声音应该被听到”，并强调由于他的商业背景，他在这方面有着敏锐的直觉。 特朗普曾表示：“我赚了很多钱，我非常成功，我认为我的角色至少应该是提出建议，他们不必听从我的建议。” 特朗普总统还曾试图解雇涉嫌犯有抵押贷款欺诈罪的美联储理事库克，但法院在库克提起诉讼寻求推翻解雇决定的同时，保留了她的职位。根据联邦法律，美联储理事能够因故被解雇。 美联储长期以来一直独立于行政部门运作。有专家认为，美联储独立制定利率的能力赋予了央行信誉，并消除了人们对其受政治因素驱动的担忧。 12月10日，特朗普在回应是否要求美联储主席候选人承诺降低利率时明确指出：“没有。我会提出问题，然后我会弄清楚的。” 现年55岁的共和党人沃什，生于美国纽约州的奥尔巴尼，是一位美国金融家和银行高管。他曾于2006年至2011年担任美联储委员会理事。
1月29日华盛顿报道，美国总统特朗普今天表示，他将于1月30日周五宣布新任美联储主席人选。 特朗普总统在出席第一夫人梅拉妮亚的电影《梅拉尼娅》(Melania）的首映式时表示，他去年夏天启动的寻找接替现任主席鲍威尔的人选的程序即将结束。 特朗普总统说：“我明天早上会宣布美联储主席人选，”当特朗普总统当被问及是否已经确定人选时表示：“我已经确定了，我最好确定下来，否则我就得赶紧去工作了。” 遴选美联储现任主席鲍威尔的继任者程序始于2025年9月，最初有11位候选人，其中包括前任和现任美联储官员、经济学家和华尔街投资专业人士。美国财政部长贝森特对符合条件的候选人进行了筛选，最终将名单缩减到五人，然后是四人。 据信，最终的四位候选人是前美联储理事沃什（Kevin Warsh)、美国国家经济委员会主任哈塞特（Kevin Hassett)、现任美联储理事沃勒（Christopher Waller)，以及贝莱德（BlackRock）固定收益首席投资官里德尔（Rick Rieder)。 预测市场一直在押注谁将获得这份工作。哈塞特曾一度领先，之后是沃什，而过去几天里德尔的呼声最高。然而，预测巿场押注在今晚上情况发生了变化，Kalshi预测沃什的胜算高达80%，遥遥领先。 特朗普总统补充说，他选择的人选“几年前就可能担任这个职位”。众所周知，沃什在2017年特朗普提名鲍威尔时也曾是候选人之一。
1月28日德州奥斯汀报道，亿万富豪马斯克今天证实，特斯拉将停止生产其高端轿车Model S和高端SUV Model X，这标志着这两款历史最悠久的车型时代的终结。 此举正值该公司向自动驾驶技术和机器人领域转型之际，其财报显示，上季度营收下降 3%，至 249 亿美元。 特斯拉首席执行官马斯克在今天举行的 2025 年第四季度财报电话会议上表示，Model S 和 Model X…
1月28日华盛顿报道，美国财政部长贝森特（Scott Bessent）今天为美国司法部依法调查美联储主席鲍威尔（Jerome Powell）的行为进行了辩护，并驳斥了有关调查可能削弱美联储传统独立性的担忧。 据哥伦比亚广播公司报道，美国财长贝森特在接受采访时表示：“我认为，这传递的信息是，独立并不意味着无需承担责任，自去年春天以来，我一直呼吁美联储就许多事情进行内部调查，但他们选择不这样做。” 本月早些时候，美国司法部向美联储发出大陪审团传票，涉及一项针对鲍威尔2025年6月在参议院委员会作证的刑事调查。该调查与美联储耗资在华盛顿特区翻新办公楼超出预算有关。 特朗普政府官员一直强调该项目不断攀升的成本。鲍威尔为他的行为一直辩称，并公开回应特朗普政府关于美联储翻新项目成本超支的说法，还声称美国司法部的调查是旨在迫使美联储更积极地降息。 贝森特今天表示，美联储在处理事务时必须“无可指摘”，并称其为“美国最有权势、却未经任命的机构”。 贝森特表示：“所以，如果我想为我在财政部的办公室添置一把新椅子，这笔钱就得来自拨款，而美联储——如果他们在办公楼上超支，比如7亿美元、10亿美元、15亿美元——他们就可以直接印钞。”
1月28日华盛顿报道，美联储决策者今天投票决定维持基准联邦基金利率不变，仍保持在3.5%至3.75%的区间。此前，美联储在去年9月、10月和12月连续三次降息25个基点，此举是在劳动力市场和通胀前景不明朗的情况下做出的。 经济数据显示美国劳动力市场放缓，同时通胀率持续高于美联储2%的目标，这促使决策者暂停降息。此前，联邦公开市场委员会（FOMC）在12月的降息决定上存在严重分歧。 联邦公开市场委员会今天以10票赞成、2票反对的投票结果决定维持利率不变，美联储理事米兰（Stephen Miran）和沃勒（Christopher Waller）投了反对票，他们主张降息25个基点。 此前曾在特朗普政府任职的米兰自加入美联储以来，一直支持比联邦公开市场委员会多数成员更大幅度的降息。他的美联储任期将于1月31日届满。沃勒被认为是美联储主席的潜在人选，他上一次对联邦公开市场委员会的决定投反对票是在去年7月份，当时美联储决定维持利率不变。 联邦公开市场委员会在一份声明中指出，数据显示美国经济“以稳健的速度扩张”，并补充说，“就业增长仍然缓慢，失业率显示出一些企稳迹象。通货膨胀率仍然偏高。” 美联储主席鲍威尔（Jerome Powell）在新闻发布会上声称，在决策者此前三次会议上每次都降息25个基点后，他们“认为目前的货币政策立场适宜，有助于实现充分就业和2%的通胀目标”。 鲍威尔称，美国劳动力市场已显示出企稳迹象，尽管过去三个月的就业报告显示平均每月减少2.2万个工作岗位，但同期私营部门每月新增2.9万个工作岗位。他补充说，劳动力供应增长放缓的原因是移民人数和劳动力参与率下降，以及劳动力需求有所减弱。 鲍威尔还称，美国通胀水平仍然较高，截至去年12月，个人消费支出（PCE）指数在过去一年上涨了2.9%。他解释说，“较高的读数主要反映了商品领域的通胀，而商品领域的通胀受到了关税的影响”，相比之下，服务业则出现了通货紧缩。 鲍威尔在回答有关美联储目前的利率政策距离中性利率有多近时声称，“很难根据目前的数据判断当前的政策是否具有显著的限制性”，并称政策可能“大致处于中性或略微具有限制性，这取决于观察者的角度”。 鲍威尔说，在2024年底和2025年降息175个基点之后，美联储将能够“让数据说话”，从而在未来的会议上权衡潜在的利率调整。 鲍威尔针对关税的影响是否已经以物价上涨的形式传导到经济中时称，根据商品价格上涨的情况来看，“很大一部分影响已经显现”。 鲍威尔说：“商品价格上涨的大部分原因是关税，这实际上是个好消息，因为如果不是关税造成的，那就可能是需求过旺导致的，而解决需求过旺的问题会更加棘手。我们认为关税的影响可能会传导下去，但只会导致一次性的价格上涨。”…
1月28日加州门洛公园市报道，美国科技公司Meta 今天公布了第四季度财报，称其旗下现实实验室 （Reality Labs）运营亏损60.2 亿美元，销售额为 9.55 亿美元，接近此前分析师预计的该部门第四季度运营亏损为 56.7 亿美元，营收为 9.408 亿美元。 该季度现实实验室的亏损同比增长 21%，而销售额同期增长 13%。自 2020…