On Monday, Los Angeles County received their first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine with an ICU nurse receiving the first dose in the county.
The FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer vaccine on Friday after it completed Phase Three clinical trials, and there is potential the Moderna vaccine will receive a EUA in the next two weeks, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
“Today the first COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States, including here in Los Angeles County,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of public health.
he county plan for distribution is currently set up in three phases, 1A, 1B and 1C.
Phase 1A focuses on healthcare workers and residents of long term care facilities and includes the initial delivery of 82,875 doses expected next week.
After that initial delivery, the county expects to receive two additional allocations in December and then weekly allocations thereafter in the new year, according to Simon.
Phase 1B then focuses on essential workers, Phase 1C is slated for high-risk groups such as seniors and those with chronic health conditions.
The public health director thanked researchers, testing participants, transportation workers as well as hospital and healthcare personnel for their efforts in developing and distributing the vaccine.
“Words cannot convey the gratitude for what you do every day,” Ferrer said of frontline healthcare workers.
The county is expecting more vaccines next week, with weekly allotments starting in January
The Pfizer clinical trials included 40,000 participants of ages 16 and older, while the Moderna trials had over 30,000 participants of ages 18 and older, according to Dr. Paul Simon, chief science officer and director of the Division of Assessment, Planning, and Quality at LADPH.
“Both have been found to be approximately 95 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 infection, at least over the two months following vaccinations,” said Simon. “Important unanswered questions include how long protection lasts and the degree to which the vaccines prevent asymptomatic infection with potential for continued spread of the virus. These questions will be answered in the coming months with ongoing studies and continued monitoring as the vaccines are rolled out.”
See Related: Over 80,000 Doses Of COVID-19 Vaccine To Be Distributed In First Phase Of L.A. County Plan
he county plan for distribution is currently set up in three phases, 1A, 1B and 1C.
Phase 1A focuses on healthcare workers and residents of long term care facilities and includes the initial delivery of 82,875 doses expected next week.
After that initial delivery, the county expects to receive two additional allocations in December and then weekly allocations thereafter in the new year, according to Simon.
Phase 1B then focuses on essential workers, Phase 1C is slated for high-risk groups such as seniors and those with chronic health conditions.
An additional 7,344 coronavirus cases have been reported in Los Angeles County on Sunday, according to Ferrer.
The public health director noted a lower number of cases reported on Monday is the result of a lag in testing from over the weekend.
The additional cases reported Monday bring the county’s cumulative total to 532,730 according to the department.
Ferrer said last Friday that Los Angeles County is in “uncharted territory” with the highest surge in COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
There are 4,403 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday, 21 percent of which are in the ICU, according to Ferrer.
The number of patients hospitalized has tripled over the past month while the number of deaths has quadrupled, according to Ferrer.
The number of hospitalizations nearly doubles the peak of 2,232 people hospitalized with COVID-19 during the July surge. The daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has increased nearly every day since Nov. 1, when the daily number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 was 799.
As of Friday, the five-day average for daily new cases reported with COVID-19 is 10,284, over double the five-day average for daily new cases the county saw just over three weeks ago.
48 additional deaths have been reported Monday, with the total deaths across the county reaching 8,345, according to the department.
The State Stay Home Order went into effect at midnight on Dec. 6, and remains in effect for at least three weeks in California regions where ICU capacity falls below 15%.
According to the State, as of Monday, Dec. 14, the Southern California Region has 2.7% staffed adult ICU capacity remaining.
Over 4,148,000 coronavirus tests have been conducted as of Sunday, with about 12 percent of those tests returning positive.
On Monday, 168 new COVID-19 cases were reported across the Santa Clarita Valley, with 12,036 cumulative cases having been reported in the valley since testing began in March, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH). These cases include:
- 8,307 in the City of Santa Clarita* (+145)
- 354 in the unincorporated areas of Canyon Country (+5)
- 2,586 in Castaic* (+11)
- 58 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus
- 424 in Stevenson Ranch (+4)
- 78 in the unincorporated areas of Valencia
- 139 in the unincorporated areas of Val Verde (+1)
- 43 in the unincorporated areas of Newhall
- 18 in the unincorporated areas of Bouquet Canyon (+2)
- 18 in the unincorporated areas of Saugus/Canyon Country
- Seven in unincorporated Sand Canyon
- Four in San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon
In nearby Acton, there have been 177 cumulative cases, as well as 83 cases in Agua Dulce.
*As of Sunday Dec. 13, public health officials have recorded 1,939 cumulative cases have been reported at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center, including 1,410 at the North County Correctional Facility. Those cases are distributed between both the City of Santa Clarita and Castaic totals.
As of Monday, Dec. 12, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital has conducted 13,755 COVID-19 tests. Of those, 1,777 have tested positive, and six tests are still pending with Henry Mayo, according to Patrick Moody, spokesperson for the hospital.
There are 74 patients in the hospital as of Friday, Dec. 11, while 497 patients have been discharged since the hospital’s first case was reported in March, according to Moody.
Three additional deaths have been reported at Henry Mayo on Monday with the number of COVID-19 patients doubling over the past month.
There have been a total of 50 coronavirus deaths at the hospital, with at least 88 COVID-19 deaths reported across the Santa Clarita Valley.
See All Coronavirus Coverage: Coronavirus Coverage – COVID-19 Map
Ed. Note: These numbers are subject to change based on further investigation by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
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