Booster Shots, Vaccine Mandates Issued As LA's COVID Deaths Mount

LOS ANGELES, CA — New coronavirus cases topped 4,000 Wednesday in Los Angeles while deaths continued to climb to the direst heights of the summer surge so far. The county is poised to pass 25,000 coronavirus deaths as soon as Thursday. The tragic milestone comes as health officials gear up to provide booster vaccines to millions of Angelenos while still striving to reach millions more who have yet to receive their first shot.

Driving the spike in new cases is an outbreak among the county's homeless population and thousands of cases discovered via mandatory testing for students returning to school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The county Department of Public Health confirmed 34 new COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, lifting the overall death toll from the virus to 24,967. Another 4,046 cases were confirmed, giving the county a cumulative total from throughout the pandemic of 1,359,672.The rolling average rate of people testing positive for the virus in the county was 3.6% as of Wednesday, up slightly from 3.5% on Tuesday.

There were 1,790 COVID patients in county hospitals Wednesday, according to state figures, up from 1,754 on Tuesday. There were also 406 people being treated in intensive care, up from 397 the previous day.

As the surge drives hospitalizations, health officials and community leaders are turning to new measures to combat the outbreak. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council voted to require its 50,000 employees to be vaccinated, and the Culver City Unified School District issued a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for eligible students. The student mandate is the first of its kind in California.

County health officials late Monday issueD a new health order that will require all attendees at outdoor "mega-events" with 10,000 or more people to wear face masks. The rule takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

Also, Federal officials recommended booster shots for all vaccinated Americans Wednesday. The decision was based upon a series of studies showing immunity dissipating significantly less than a year after the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

On Wednesday, the CDC and HHS said data "make very clear" that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination -- which prompted their recommendation of booster shots for all.

"Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout," the CDC and HHS announced. "For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine- induced protection and prolong its durability."

The bootser amounts to a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine -- and "likely" an additional dose for people who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.

Those shots are expected to become available beginning the week of Sept. 20, according to a joint statement Wednesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The county over the weekend began offering third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines to people with compromised immune systems. Health officials urged people to consult their doctors to confirm their eligibility for the third shot, which should be administered at least 28 days following the second dose.

Despite the rise in breakthrough infections, vaccines continue to be the chief tool in the nation's arsenal against the pandemic.

The distribution of COVID-19 vaccines during the first few months of availability in the United States prevented nearly 140,000 virus-related deaths and 3 million infections, according to a study released Wednesday by the Santa Monica-based think tank RAND and Indiana University.

The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, concluded that by the middle of May, the vaccination campaign that began in December led the average U.S. state to experience five fewer deaths per 10,000 adult residents. California saw an estimated 6.1 fewer COVID deaths per 10,000 adult residents, according to researchers. New York saw the largest estimated decrease, at 11.7 per 10,000.

But deaths are once again on the rise, and, once again, it's the county's most vulnerable residents who are most affect.

County health officials said the number of homeless people becoming infected with the virus has jumped over the past month, mirroring a trend in the community as a whole. According to the Department of Public Health, the county had been reporting less than 30 cases among the homeless per week between late February and mid-July. But this week, the county verified 185 new cases, although 71 of them actually occurred in previous weeks but have just been confirmed as occurring among the homeless.

Throughout the pandemic, 7,996 homeless people in the county have been infected with the virus, and 218 have died.

"We have a very large population of people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County, and the availability of emergency, interim and permanent housing remains a priority, particularly during this long duration pandemic," Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "People experiencing homelessness are at high risk of severe COVID-19 disease due to underlying health conditions, age, or both.

"As we partner with others to reach people experiencing homelessness that are not yet vaccinated, layering protection at programs serving this population is critical. This includes offering isolation and quarantine facilities for those positive for COVID-19 and for those close contacts to positive cases who are unsheltered. As with previous surges, our strategies for reducing transmission must focus on those at high risk who are without adequate resources," she said.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.