Nearly 10% Of Covid Cases Lead To Hospitalizations In LA County

LOS ANGELES, CA — Coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths in Los Angeles are catching up with the surge in new cases, repeating a tragic pattern that has come to characterize the pandemic, county health officials said Thursday.

Known to be highly contagious, the Delta variant of COVID-19 is also landing more people in the hospital with not quite 1 in 10 infected people landing in local hospital beds.

"This alarming increase in the rise of hospitalizations serves as a stark reminder that this virus causes debilitating and dangerous illness among many who are infected," Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.

According to Ferrer, roughly 8% of people who become infected with the virus are now requiring hospitalization, the vast majority of them unvaccinated.

The county also reported another 23 deaths due to COVID-19 on Thursday.

"For the past few weeks I've been sharing with you that cases have been increasing at twice or more the rate of hospitalizations," Ferrer said. "However, comparing Aug. 4 with July 4, we see cases and hospitalizations rising at similar rates."

During that time period, infections rose by 387%, while hospitalizations rose by 366%, she said.

Ferrer said there has been a 240% increase in hospitalizations over the past month among unvaccinated people aged 50 or over, and a 237% rise in hospitalizations for unvaccinated younger residents. During the month of July, vaccinated residents represented just 13% of people hospitalized with the virus.

Los Angeles County and city leaders are considering measures to require proof of vaccination to enter indoor public buildings in a move aimed at slowing the outbreak. On Thursday, San Francisco became the first major city to approve such a measure. The city unveiled restrictions that will prevent the unvaccinated from indoor clubs, bars, restaurants, concerts, gyms and theaters starting Aug. 20. Los Angeles County officials could vote on a similar measure before month's end.

Meanwhile, the seven-day average number of deaths has risen to seven, compared to between four and five a month ago.

She noted that of the 5.1 million vaccinated people in the county as of Aug. 10, 21,532 have tested positive for COVID-19, for a rate of 0.42%. A total of 549 fully vaccinated people have been hospitalized, for a rate of 0.01%, and 55 have died, for a rate of 0.0011%. The rates of vaccinated people who have been hospitalized and died were both up slightly from last week.

"These small increases provide proof that fully vaccinated people are becoming infected and that with these very high rates of community transmission, more fully vaccinated people are getting post-vaccination infections," Ferrer said. "However, this data should also provide significant reassurance that fully vaccinated people remain at relatively low risk of becoming infected, still below 1%, and even lower risk for having a bad outcome if they are infected."

She added, "Trendlines like these are why we feel so certain the vaccines are doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing here in L.A. County. Vaccinated people are exceptionally well protected from hospitalization. Although we have seen cases rise among vaccinated people and hospitalizations rise, it is hard to even draw a comparison between the experience they have with COVID and the severe illness the infection continues to cause among those unvaccinated."

Her comments came on a day the county actually saw a slight dip in the number of overall hospitalized COVID patients. According to state figures, there were 1,645 COVID patients in county hospitals, down from 1,648 on Wednesday. There were 361 people in intensive care, up one from Wednesday.

The county reported another 23 deaths due to COVID-19 on Thursday, lifting the county's death toll to 24,854. Another 3,865 cases were reported, giving the county a cumulative total from throughout the pandemic of 1,339,138.

The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 4.5% as of Thursday, down slightly from 4.7% a week ago.

As of Aug. 8, 72% of the county's eligible residents aged 12 and over have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 63% are fully vaccinated. Among the county's overall population of roughly 10.3 million people -- including more than 1 million people ineligible for shots because they're under age 12 -- 62% have received at least one dose and 54% are fully vaccinated.

Ferrer said statistics show that unvaccinated people are 3.6 times more likely to become infected with COVID than vaccinated people.

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