Cases: The Pasadena Public Health Department reported 19 new COVID-19 infections, but zero deaths, on Thursday, marking three straight weeks without a fatality, records show.
The 19 new cases raised the city’s pandemic total to 13,499 infections, while the number of deaths remained at 363, according to PPHD data. The average number of daily infections in Pasadena has crept up slightly over the past week, from 7.6 on October 21 to 12.4 as of Wednesday. Pasadena Unified School District officials documented 17 cases of the virus among students, as well as three cases among staff members, over the prior week.
he number of people hospitalized with COVID- 19 in Los Angeles County rose Saturday, increasing from 630 on Friday to 659, according to state figures. Of those patients, 172 were being treated in intensive care, down from 174 the previous day.
The latest numbers come as the county reported 1,423 new coronavirus cases and 14 additional deaths Saturday, bringing its cumulative totals to 1,492,106 cases and 26,628 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
About 90% of all the local deaths associated with COVID-19 were in people with underlying health conditions, according to the health department. The most common conditions are hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 1.1% as of Friday.
The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals spiked for the second straight day Sunday, increasing to 672 from 659 on Saturday and 630 on Friday, according to state figures.
Of those patients, 162 were being treated in intensive care, down from 172 the previous day.
The latest numbers come as the county reported 1,118 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 additional deaths, bringing its cumulative totals to 1,493,170 cases and 26,637 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
The number of cases and deaths likely reflect reporting delays over the weekend.
About 90% of all the local deaths associated with COVID-19 were people with underlying health conditions, according to the county’s health department.
On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5-11. The issue now moves to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee, then to the CDC director for final approval, which could come as early as Tuesday or Wednesday.
The pediatric shots would be offered under an emergency use authorization, the same authorization given to the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and to the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15. Pfizer’s vaccine has full federal approval for ages 16 and up. Ferrer said Thursday the county will have about 150,000 doses of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine on hand to begin administering the shots this week.
According to Ferrer, there have been more than 79,000 coronavirus cases during the pandemic among children ages 5-11 in the county and one fatality. About 37,000 cases have occurred in kids up to age 4, also with one death, and more than 89,000 cases in those ages 12-17, with five deaths.
Among the county’s overall population of 10.3 million people, including those under age 12 who aren’t yet eligible for the shots, 69% have received at least one dose, and 61% are fully vaccinated.
Black residents continue to have the lowest vaccination rates, with just 56% having received at least one dose. That compares with 64% of Latino/a residents, 74% of White residents and 83% of Asians.
Younger Black residents have particularly low vaccination rates, with the youngest age group at 43% with at least one dose.
Vaccinations and compliance: Los Angeles County health inspectors continue to find overall good compliance with COVID-19 health requirements at local businesses, but there is still room for improvement at many locations when it comes to enforcing maskwearing requirements, officials said Monday.
According to the county Department of Public Health, inspectors visited roughly 1,500 businesses between Oct. 16-22. Of the businesses inspected, 73% of garment manufacturers, 73% of office sites, 82% of bars, 80% of nightclubs and 86% of lounges were in compliance with the indoor mask-wearing requirement. Inspectors also found 85% of bars were complying with customer-vaccination verifications. Only two citations were issued during that week for failure to comply with health orders. County officials have noted that citations are considered a last line of defense, with inspectors opting primarily to work with businesses to help bring them into compliance.
The county reported another five COVID-19 deaths on Monday, bringing the overall pandemic death toll to 26,552. Another 679 cases were reported, for a cumulative total of 1,485,769. Case and death numbers tend to be lower on Mondays due to delays in reporting from the weekend.
According to state figures, there were 629 COVID- 19-positive patients in county hospitals as of Monday, up from 610 on Sunday. Of those patients, 170 were in intensive care, down from 179 a day earlier. The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 0.8% as of Monday.
Los Angeles County providers last week began offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to people who
previously received any of the three vaccinations in circulation.
Under federal guidelines, people can receive a different brand of a booster shot than their original doses.
Booster shots are available for people who are:
• 65 years of age or older;
• Aged 18 and older and living in long-term care settings; • Aged 18 and older with underlying medical conditions; and
• Aged 18 and older and living or working in highrisk settings.
People who received the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna shots should not receive a booster until at least six months after their last dose. For the single- shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, people must wait at least two months after their shot.
Most vaccination sites do not require appointments, and shots are usually available on a walk-in basis. However, appointments can be made at www. VaccinateLACounty.com, or in Spanish, www.Vacunate-LosAngeles.com.
According to numbers released Thursday, 79% of eligible county residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 71% are fully vaccinated.
The Supreme Court has rejected an emergency appeal from health care workers in Maine to block a vaccine mandate that went into effect Friday.
Three conservative justices noted their dissents. The state is not offering a religious exemption to hospital and nursing home workers who risk losing their jobs if they are not vaccinated.
Only New York and Rhode Island also have vaccine mandates for health care workers that lack religious exemptions. Both are the subject of court fights and a court has allowed workers inNew York to seek religious exemptions while the lawsuit plays out.
As is typical in emergency appeals, the Supreme Court did not explain its action. But Justice Neil Gorsuch said in a dissent for himself and two fellow conservatives that he would have agreed to the request.
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday paved the way for children ages 5 to 11 to get Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
The FDA cleared kid-size doses — just a third of the amount given to teens and adults — for emergency use, and up to 28 million more American children could be eligible for vaccinations as early as next week.
Onemore regulatory hurdle remains: OnTuesday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will make more detailed recommendations on which youngsters should get vaccinated, with a final decision by the agency’s
director expected shortly afterward.
Stimulus: California will begin sending 1,150,000 pandemic stimulus payments this week to qualifying residents, the Franchise Tax Board said Friday. The Golden State Stimulus II payments began in late August and are drawn from federal funds and the state’s $75.7 billion budget surplus. Nearly two-thirds of Californians are eligible for a stimulus check of $600 under two different Golden State Stimulus programs.
Golden State Stimulus I is distributing payments of $600$1,200 to low-income residents who claim the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit. Those residents typically earn less than $30,000 annually. The extra $600 is for qualifying children or family dependents. In the GSSII program, qualifying residents who earn less than $75,000 in adjusted gross income will get $600 and an additional $500 for dependents.
Economy: Hampered by rising COVID-19 cases and persistent supply shortages, the U.S. economy slowed sharply to a 2% annual growth rate in the July-September period, the weakest quarterly expansion since the recovery from the pandemic recession began last year.
Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department estimated that the nation’s gross domestic product — its total output of goods and services — declined from robust growth rates of 6.7% in the second quarter and 6.3% in the first quarter.
The 2% annual growth last quarter fell below expectations and would have been even weaker if not for a sharp increase in restocking by businesses, which added whatever supplies they could obtain. Such inventory rebuilding added 2.1 percentage points to the quarter’s modest expansion.
By contrast, consumer spending, which fuels about 70% of overall economic activity, slowed to an annual growth rate of just 1.6% after having surged at a 12% rate in the previous quarter.
Economists remain hopeful for a bounce-back in the current October- December period, with confirmed COVID-19 cases declining, vaccination rates rising and more Americans venturing out to spend money. Most economists think GDP is rebounding to an annual growth rate of 6% or more this quarter.
Airlines have reported growing passenger traffic, businesses are investing more and wages are increasing as employers struggle to draw more people back into the job market. A resurgence of consumer spending could help energize the economy as the year nears a close.
At the same time, though, rising prices, especially for gasoline, food, rent and other staples, are imposing a burden on American consumers and eroding the benefits of higher wages. Inflation has emerged as a threat to the economic recovery and a key concern for the Federal Reserve as it prepares to start withdrawing the emergency aid it provided to the economy after the recession struck last year.
Thursday’s report from the government, the first of three estimates of last quarter’s GDP, showed widespread weakness. In consumer spending, purchases of durable goods, like autos and appliances, fell at a 26.2% rate. Sales of clothing and other nondurable goods slowed to a modest annual gain of 2.6%. And purchases of services rose at a 7.9% rate, down from an 11.5% annual rise in the previous quarter.
Businesses also held back. Corporate investment in equipment and plants slowed to a 1.8% rate of growth, after a 9.2% annual increase in the April-June quarter. Residential construction declined at a 7.7% rate after an even sharper 11.7% drop in the previous quarter.
Last quarter, exports declined at a 2.5% annual rate and imports rose at a 6.1% rate — a surge that has contributed to clogged ports. The gap between exports and imports subtracted 1.1 percentage points from last quarter’s annual growth.
California workers filed fewer initial unemployment claims last week, but filings remain far above typical claims before pandemic-related shutdowns began more than 18 months ago.
Workers statewide filed 65,042 claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending Oct. 23, a decrease of 7,843 from the 72,885 claims filed the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
The number of jobless claims posted last week with California’s Employment Development Department was 45% higher than filings in February 2020.
Nationwide, jobless claims dropped by 10,000 to 281,000, the lowest since mid-March 2020. Since topping 900,000 in early January, weekly applications have steadily dropped, moving ever closer to prepandemic levels just above 200,000.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week gyrations, fell by nearly 21,000 to 299,250, also a pandemic low.
In all, 2.2 million people were collecting unemployment checks the week of Oct. 16, down from 7.7 million a year earlier.
Jobless claims “continue to trend lower, gradually moving closer to levels prevailing prior to the recession,” Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Econom-ics, wrote in a research report. “Businesses are holding on to workers amid reports of severe labor shortages.
Wages jumped in the three months ending in September by the most on records dating back 20 years, a stark illustration of the growing ability of workers to demand higher pay from companies that are desperate to fill a near-record number of jobs.
Pay rose 1.5% in the third quarter, the Labor Department said Friday. That’s up sharply from 0.9% in the previous quarter. The value of benefits rose 0.9% in the July-September quarter, more than double the preceding three months.
Workers have gained the upper hand in the job market for the first time in at least two decades, and they are commanding higher pay, more benefits, and other perks like flexible work hours. With more jobs available than there are unemployed people, government data shows, businesses have been forced to work harder to attract staff.
Higher inflation is eating away some of the wage hikes, but in recent months overall pay has kept up with rising prices. The 1.5% increase in wages and salaries in the third quarter is ahead of the 1.2% increase in inflation during that period, economists said.
However, compared with a year ago, it’s a closer call. In the year ending in September, wages and salaries soared 4.2%, also a record gain. But the government also reported Friday that prices increased 4.4% in September from year earlier. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, inflation was 3.6% in the past year.