“We now have a really completely different January than anticipated, and for that I’m grateful,” mentioned LA County Public Well being Director Barbara Ferrer on Thursday, saying in her weekly handle that due to continued declines in new COVID-19 instances this week, LA County has now moved again into the “low” group tier as outlined by the CDC.
Ferrer reported an averaged 1,100 new instances per day this week in LA County, down from 1,700 the week earlier than. Although she additionally famous, as standard, that this represents a major undercount since extra individuals are utilizing dwelling checks as of late, and people outcomes don’t get reported.
In different excellent news, hospital admissions have been additionally down this week, Ferrer mentioned, with a mean of 136 per day…although that’s nonetheless double the quantity from October. We’re now additionally averaging 20 deaths per day, which continues to be greater than the 8 per week round Thanksgiving, and we hit a tragic milestone of 35,000 whole deaths from COVID-19 for the reason that begin of the pandemic. And Ferrer additionally identified that hospitalizations and deaths stay particularly excessive in our most weak teams, together with older individuals and those that reside in excessive poverty areas.
Since new case numbers are actually considerably underreported, Ferrer mentioned, the County additionally depends on wastewater testing, the place ranges didn’t actually lower this week, however began to degree off at about 70% of final summer season’s peak concentrations, and nonetheless throughout the “excessive” degree of concern. On the constructive facet, although, Ferrer famous that wastewater ranges are additionally not spiking once more, as we’ve seen previously couple of Januaries…and which means the cautionary measures we’ve been taking are making a distinction.
However trying on the entire image, with a brand new case fee of 75 per 100,000 residents, we do now qualify for the CDC’s “low” group tier, indicating that our well being care system will not be presently being burdened by the illness.
Generally, on the low group degree, Ferrer mentioned masks are actually a matter of particular person selection in indoor areas, although they’re nonetheless advisable in indoor public areas for individuals with elevated threat components, and for for 5 days in workplaces for individuals who have lately examined unfavorable after no less than 5 days of isolation (that’s a statewide requirement set by the California Occupational Security and Well being Administration). Additionally, she mentioned, it’s value noting that masks are nonetheless required in well being care and congregate care settings, in most indoor areas for 10 days after publicity to COVID-19, and in locations the place it’s required by a selected enterprise, faculty or office (that are allowed to set their very own insurance policies).
Curiously, Ferrer mentioned, a number of the extra transmissible COVID-19 variants now on the scene haven’t but grow to be the main threats they have been feared to be. For instance, the BQ1 and BQ1.1 Omicron subvariants’ share of whole infections held fairly regular this week at 68.2% of the whole, whereas the newer XBB and XB1.5 variants grew from 7.3 to 10.3%, which is lower than initially anticipated by this level and brings hope that our total numbers will stay comparatively low for no less than the following a number of weeks.
Additionally, by means of evaluating XBB1.5’s affect, Ferrer in contrast the proportion of XBB1.5 instances within the LA space to these in different main metropolitan areas, together with present hospitalization charges. If this specific variant have been driving further hospitalizations, she mentioned, XBB1.5 hospitalizations could be highest in cities with a bigger variety of XBB1.5 instances, however that hasn’t essentially occurred. For instance, Ferrer reported, LA County presently has extra XBB1.5 instances than Chicago, nevertheless it has a decrease variety of COVID-19 hospital admissions. So “this pressure of Omicron will not be having a significant influence on hospitalizations at the moment,” Ferrer mentioned, which is one more indicator that our present mitigation measures are working.
One other attention-grabbing statistic Ferrer checked out this week was the variety of “co-morbidities” (or threat components) present in sufferers hospitalized for COVID-19 in LA County. From the start, she mentioned, these tendencies have remained fairly predictable, with the smallest share of COVID-19 sufferers having no comorbidities, and the odds rising with the variety of comorbidities…with the best proportion of COVID-19 sufferers having three or extra comorbidities.
On the brighter facet, Ferrer mentioned, the numbers do present that our latest bivalent boosters positively do assist to guard towards COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. In actual fact, people who find themselves unvaccinated have hospitalization charges 3 times greater than those that are vaccinated however not boosted…and 7 occasions greater than those that are each vaccinated and boosted. And deaths are 4 occasions greater for many who are unvaccinated than those that are vaccinated however haven’t acquired the newest booster shot, and virtually 8 1/2 occasions greater than those that are each vaccinated and boosted with the newest bivalent vaccine.
So Ferrer strongly advisable that those that haven’t but acquired their bivalent boosters achieve this quickly, and that everybody proceed to make use of different frequent sense protections to assist shield those that are probably the most weak to an infection, hospitalization and dying from COVID-19. As all the time, she mentioned, that features carrying masks in indoor and/or crowded areas, testing earlier than and after attending giant gatherings, and contacting your well being care supplier to obtain therapeutic therapies in case you get contaminated.
“Transferring into the low group degree means lowered threat,” Ferrer mentioned, “nevertheless it doesn’t imply no threat, particularly for these most weak…Low group degree will not be a promise and it doesn’t signify the tip of the pandemic.” As an alternative she mentioned, “It does present that we all know much more about COVID-19 and the way it works, and successfully use the instruments we’ve got. My hope is that individuals will proceed to be sensible about navigating life with this virus and that we’re really getting into a brand new part.”
