With Natural COVID Immunity Faltering, LA Urged To Get Vaccinated

LOS ANGELES, CA — After weeks of decline, daily coronavirus case rates have plateaued in California. With the coronavirus proving to be seasonal, health officials worry about the winter months ahead. On Monday, Los Angeles County health officials urged unvaccinated residents to get the shot now in order to have the full protection of the vaccine if the outbreak surges again this fall and winter. The push comes at the same time as a new study showing that people who have some natural immunity from prior COVID-19 infections are five times as likely to become infected with COVID-19 than vaccinated people.

Los Angeles County health officials are also urging those who have already been vaccinated to receive a booster shot prior to the winter months.

"There is urgency for those unvaccinated to get vaccinated, and for those eligible for an additional dose because of their age, underlying health conditions, or occupation, to get their booster," county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "We saw last year how damaging the virus can be and how colder weather and increased intermingling leads to more transmission.

"We are lucky that this year we have powerful vaccines that can effectively blunt transmission. However, there is only a small window of time still available to improve vaccination coverage across the county before the holiday season takes off. Let's do everything possible to make sure scores of people don't spend the holidays away from those they love because they are sick or hospitalized with the virus."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study Friday concluding that people who had been infected months earlier with the coronavirus were about five times more likely to become reinfected and hospitalized than vaccinated people are to suffer breakthrough infections requiring hospitalization.

“These data show, pretty strongly, that the vaccines are more protective against symptomatic COVID,” said Dr. Mike Saag, an infectious-disease expert at the University of Alabama at Birmingham told the Los Angeles Times.

The study of 7,000 hospitalized adults led researchers to conclude that natural immunity is nowhere near as effective as a vaccine at protecting against the coronavirus. Nearly 1.5 million Angelenos have already been infected with COVID-19, and health officials are warning them they are still vulnerable to serious reinfection.

Also on Monday, the county reported seven more COVID-19 deaths, raising the overall death toll to 26,644.

Another 990 new infections were also confirmed, giving the county a cumulative pandemic total of 1,494,119.

Case and death numbers tend to be artificially low on Mondays due to lags in reporting from the weekend.

According to the county, the rolling daily average rate of people testing positive for the virus was 0.8% as of Monday.

According to state figures, the number of COVID-positive patients in county hospitals fell to 659 on Monday, down from 672 on Sunday. The number of people being treated in intensive care was 173, up from 162 on Sunday.

About 90% of all the local deaths associated with COVID-19 were people with underlying health conditions, according to the county's health department. The most common conditions are hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.

In Los Angeles County, 80% of residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine, while 72% are fully vaccinated, Ferrer said. 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.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Pfizer's COVID vaccine for children aged 5 to 11. The issue will now move to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee, then to the CDC director for final approval.

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 people aged 12-15. Pfizer's vaccine has full federal approval for people aged 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 after they are approved.

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