The Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health (Public Health) confirmed on Wednesday 141 new deaths and 3,434 new cases of COVID-19. To date, Public Health identified 1,155,309 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of LA County and a total of 18,500 deaths. 

As of Feb. 5, the average number of new cases was around 4,500 a day; a 70% decrease from the peak experienced in early-January when Public Health reported an average of over 15,000 cases per day. 

There are 3,973 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 29% of these people are in the ICU, Public Health reported. Testing results are available for more than 5,634,000 individuals with 19% of people testing positive. The daily test positivity rate reported on Wednesday was 7.1%.

Of the 141 new deaths reported, 48 people who died were over the age of 80, 43 people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, 30 people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, 10 people who died were between the ages of 30 and 49, and three people who died were between the ages of 18 and 29. Five deaths were reported by the City of Long Beach and two deaths were reported by the City of Pasadena.

The City of Glendale reported 17,592 cases, the City of La Cañada Flintridge reported 681 cases, Sunland reported 2,077 cases, Tujunga reported 2,575 cases and in the unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County Angeles National Forest reported 29 cases and La Crescenta-Montrose reported 975 cases.

“Each death we report is a tragedy and we wish everyone who is mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID-19 strength through these difficult times. You have our deepest condolences,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, director of Public Health. “In these times of vaccine scarcity, we ask that everyone be mindful of waiting for your turn, and ensuring that those most vulnerable in each eligible group have access to the vaccine; this includes older people, frontline workers in these eligible sectors, and eligible residents and workers in the hardest hit communities. I want to thank everyone who has communicated to us the considerations and concerns they have around vaccine access for the populations they serve; your input is invaluable and is being used to inform the county’s plans for vaccinating more sectors and groups in the near future. We move forward together and with hope.” 

Public Health continues working on strategies that improve access to vaccine for people who are older with limited mobility and needing assistance securing appointments. The department is organizing mobile teams to bring vaccinations directly to seniors living in housing developments or accessing senior centers in hardest-hit communities. Community health workers in the highly impacted communities, at times, will go block-by-block to provide information to residents about how to get vaccinated and dispel myths and misinformation about the vaccine. In addition, the County is working to support neighborhood vaccination sites, and have placed 60 volunteers from various universities at sites to provide assistance with data entry, cold-chain support and licensed clinical vaccinators.

The state announced that in the next several weeks the vaccination effort statewide will be coordinated by a third-party administrator, Blue Shield of California. Public Health looks forward to working with Blue Shield and the state to ensure that there is an efficient and effective vaccine distribution system that meets the needs of LA communities. During and after this transition, Public Health’s website, www.VaccinateLACounty.com and www.VaccunateLosAngeles.com, will remain a portal for the latest information about COVID-19 and the vaccine and link people to the statewide appointment registration system.

Currently, vaccinations are open to healthcare workers, staff and residents at long-term care facilities, and people ages 65 and older. Prioritization of groups to be vaccinated happens at the federal level, and then these recommendations are reviewed and finalized at the state level. Counties are asked to implement the state’s prioritized tiering. On Jan. 25, Governor Newsom announced three additional frontline workers should be vaccinated as part of Phase 1B Tier 1: education and childcare workers, food and agriculture workers, and emergency services workers. With very limited vaccine supply and uncertainty on timing for increased production, a realistic and carefully developed plan for expanding vaccination availability to these additional sectors is being developed. The plan to start vaccinations for workers in these sectors is in two to three weeks.

As the department finalizes vaccination plans for frontline workers in these sectors, Public Health is consulting with dozens of stakeholders, including community-based organizations, elected officials and city managers, other government agencies, school districts, childcare providers, healthcare and vaccination partners, labor unions, faith-based organizations, representatives of grocery stores and agriculture communities, law enforcement and the courts.