Netflix and Hulu? Check. Alexa and Siri, for instant answers? Check. And now, in Los Angeles County, you can also get an on demand COVID-19 vaccine.
That’s right. In a world of inhome services — and at a time of urgent concern that not enough people are getting their shots to fend off the coronavirus — the vaccines can come to you. At least that’s what public health officials want to remind you about this week.
With case rates and hospitalizations spiking again, fueled by the more infectious delta variant of the disease, the county is making a renewed push to make sure residents know that all it takes is a phone call to get the county’s mobile vaccine service to come to people who, for whatever reason, are stuck at home. You could see it on Wednesday with one post on Twitter: “Need to get vaccinated? We can come to you. Call our Vaccine Call Center any day of the week at between 8:00 AM and 8:30 PM for assistance.”
The program began as a way to serve home-bound people with the vaccine. But those who administer it say it extends to others in that home-bound person’s household who want a jab. So, one visit to a person’s home can easily multiply into several people being vaccinated.
It’s a drop in the bucket against the millions who still need to be vaccinated in the county. But every little bit helps.
Public Health officials and elected leaders in the region continue to urge vaccination as a way to control the spread of COVID-19. The Delta variant is more contagious than its progenitor, experts
Los Angeles County reported 3,045 new coronavirus cases and five additional deaths on Sunday, with officials noting that those numbersmay reflect delays in weekend reporting. The number of COVID-19 patients in county hospitals continued to spike, too, rising from 1,071 Saturday
to 1,096, according to state figures. The number of those patients in intensive care rose from 231 to 236. The new figures bring the county’s cumulative totals to 1,303,343 cases and 24,685 fatalities since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Pasadena saw its highest single-day count of new COVID-19 cases since late-January on Friday at 55. The last time more cases were reported on a single day in the city was Jan. 31, when 56 infections were detected, according to Pasadena Public Health Department data.
In total, city officials had recorded 11,877 COVID-cases and 352 fatalities, with the last death in Pasadena reported on Monday.
Pasadena’s average number of infections over the prior week reached 32.4, according to PPHD records. Officials at Huntington Hospital reported treating 16 COVID-19 patients on Friday, with three of them being housed in intensive care units. The figures were unchanged from Thursday.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 3,606 new infections and five fatalities on Friday, raising the county’s pandemic totals to 1,297,032 COVID-19 cases and 24,676 deaths.
The number of people hospitalized with the virus had increased to 991, with 20% of them being treated in ICUs, the agency said in a written statement. State records indicated the number has exceeded 1,100 total hospitalized patients in L.A. County. The daily positivity rate was measured at 6.3%.
Increasing transmission only makes the need for vaccinations more vital, L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said.
The California Department of Public Health announced 10,356 new infections and 44 deaths on Friday, bringing the state’s totals to 3,840,364 cases of the virus and 63,935 fatalities.
The statewide average weekly positivity rate climbed to 6.4%, according to CDPH data.
As of Friday, L.A. County represented 34% of California’s COVID-19 infections and 39% of the state’s deaths.COVID-19 transmission in Pasadena has increased to levels not seen in nearly five months, with 37 new cases documented on Thursday, according to public health officials. The city had not recorded a higher single-day case count since Feb. 3, according to Pasadena Public Health Department records.
In total, officials in Pasadena have recorded 11,822 confirmed infections. Since the onset of the pandemic, 352 fatalities have been reported in the city.
Fueled by a rapid spread of the delta variant, at least 140 recent coronavirus outbreaks have struck workplaces in Los Angeles County — a 150% increase since the middle of July — officials said Wednesday. Public health leaders also cited another 15 virus-related deaths and 2,454 new cases.
Vaccine mandates: As President Joe Biden prepares to unveil a policy on Thursday requiring all federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, more cities appear to be following a trend established by Pasadena, one that requires municipal employees to be vaccinated. Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell on July 19 announced that he was working with the Human Resources Department to require all city employees to be vaccinated. The announcement made headlines across the region.
“The city manager announced the city will implement a policy to require COVID-19 vaccinations for 2,000 employees,” said Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian. “Currently, approximately 60% of city employees have attested to being fully vaccinated. However, given the ongoing risk posed by COVID-19, the upward trend in positive cases, and the Delta variant, a vaccine policy is the right thing to do to foster a safe work environment and protect the health and safety of city of Pasadena employees and the public we serve. The vaccine policy is being formalized and we hope to implement it in the near future. The city of Pasadena would be the first city to initiate this policy in Southern California and follows similar announcements by the University of California System, Cal State System and City and County of San Francisco who recently announced similar policies.”
Pasadena has also reinstated an indoor masked mandate. More than 81% of the city’s residents have been vaccinated, according to its COVID dashboard.
Based on the numbers being reported by Pasadena’s Health Department and the county’s public health page, Pasadena has the highest vaccination rate of cities in the county with populations over 100,000 people.
Los Angeles city officials on Wednesday began hashing out details of a proposal to require all municipal employees to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or undergo weekly coronavirus testing, while a City Council member introduced a motion calling for a stricter rule that would mandate vaccinations. Long Beach will also require city employees to confirm vaccination status or endure tests.
The county is reporting a significant spread of the Delta variant. Health officials now say that vaccinated people can carry the same viral load of the virus as the unvaccinated.
Doctors at Huntington Hospital were treating 18 COVID-19 patients as of Wednesday. Three of them are in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
The new information led to new guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advising, not mandating, people wear masks indoors.
L.A.’s policy, while similar to state policy, falls short of a mandate.
However, Garcetti said he and City Council President Nury Martinez are “committed to pursuing a full vaccine mandate.”
City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas introduced a motion Wednesday that would impose a strict vaccination mandate on municipal employees. The motion asks the city administrative officer, chief legislative analyst and other staff to report back in 15 days on a policy that would require all city employees and contractors to be fully vaccinated and report their vaccination status to the appropriate city department.
President Joe Biden is expected to announce on Thursday a requirement that all federal employees and contractors be vaccinated against Covid-19, or be required to submit to regular testing and mitigation requirements, according to CNN.
Evictions: A nationwide eviction moratorium is set to expire Saturday after President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress worked furiously but ultimately failed to align on a long shot strategy to prevent millions of Americans from being forced from their homes during a COVID-19 surge. More than 3.6 million Americans are at risk of eviction, some in a matter of days, as nearly $47 billion in federal housing aid to the states during the pandemic has been slow to make it into the hands of renters and landlords owed payments.
Tensions mounted late Friday as it became clear there would be no resolution in sight. Hours before the ban was set to expire, Biden called on local governments to “take all possible steps” to immediately disburse the funds. Evictions could begin as soon as Monday.
The stunning outcome, as the White House and Congress each expected the other to act, exposed a rare divide between the president and his allies on Capitol Hill, and one that could have lasting impact as the nation’s renters face widespread evictions.
The Economy: US growth weaker than expected in second quarter: Fueled by vaccinations and government aid, the U.S. economy grew at a solid 6.5% annual rate last quarter in another sign that the nation has achieved a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession. The total size of the economy has now surpassed its pre-pandemic level.
Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department estimated that the nation’s gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — accelerated in the April-June quarter from an already robust 6.3% annual growth rate in the first quarter of the year.
The latest figure fell well below the 8%-plus annual growth rate that many economists had predicted for the second quarter. But the miss was due mainly to clogged supply chains related to the rapid reopening of the economy. Those bottlenecks exerted a larger-than-expected drag on companies’ efforts to restock their shelves. The resulting slowdown in inventory rebuilding, in fact, subtracted 1.1 percentage points from last quarter’s annual growth.
By contrast, consumer spending — the main fuel of the U.S. economy — surged for a second straight quarter, advancing at an 11.8% annual rate. Spending on goods grew at an 11.6% rate, and spending on services, from restaurant meals to airline tickets, expanded at a 12% pace as vaccinations encouraged more Americans to shop, travel and eat out.
Companies, too, spent with confidence last quarter. Business investment surged at an 8% annual rate in the April-June quarter, adding 1.1 percentage point to GDP.
With consumers and businesses expected to keep spending, many analysts expect the economy to grow at a robust pace of around 6.5% for all of 2021, despite the supply shortages and the possibility of a resurgent coronavirus in the form of the highly contagious delta variant. That would amount to the strongest calendar-year growth since 1984.
Growth that strong would far exceed the 2% to 3% average annual rates of recent decades. And it would represent a striking bounce-back from the economy’s 3.4% contraction last year in the midst of the pandemic, the worst decline since the 1940s.
Underpinning the rapid recovery have been trillions in federal rescue money, ranging from stimulus checks to expanded unemployment benefits to small business aid to just-distributed child tax credit payments. And millions of affluent households have benefited from a vast increase in their wealth resulting from surging home equity and stock market gains.
The recovery, in fact, has been so rapid, with pent-up demand from consumers driving growth after a year of lockdowns, that one looming risk is a potential spike in inflation that could get out of control. Consumer prices jumped 5.4% in June from a year ago, the sharpest spike in 13 years and the fourth straight month of sizable price jumps.
The measure of consumer inflation in the second-quarter GDP report showed an annual rise of 3.4% for core inflation, which excludes food and energy. It was the fastest such jump since 1991.
In addition to the drag on GDP from weak inventory restocking, reflecting the supply chain problems, housing construction fell at a 9.8% annual rate last quarter. This decline reflected, in part, the troubles home builders have had in obtaining lumber and other supplies.
Some economists have warned that by choosing not to begin withdrawing its extraordinary support for the economy, the Federal Reserve may end up responding too late and too aggressively to high inflation by quickly jacking up rates and perhaps causing another recession.