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View Winners → Nearly All L.A. County Skilled Nursing Facilities Administered First Doses of COVID Vaccine
Arcadia Weekly Jan 19, 2021
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Vaccinating seniors at nursing homes has been a priority for state and local officials. | Courtesy photo by RitaE from Pixabay
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported Monday that 335 of 340 (nearly 99%) of all skilled nursing facilities in the county received and administered their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly 39,000 doses have been administered to staff and residents. The remaining facilities are currently vaccinating or are scheduling vaccinations this week. Additionally, for facilities that completed their first doses, Public Health is helping with second doses of the vaccine.
For example, residents and staff at Arcadia Living have all received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine and are scheduled to get the second dose in February, per officials at the assisted living community in Arcadia. “We are truly blessed to have this opportunity and we expect operations to normalize in the next few months,” said Arcadia Living Executive Director Noemi Biely. “We are confident our community is safe and has allowed guests and visitors on an appointment basis.”
All skilled nursing facilities in the county conduct weekly testing of residents and staff. For the week of Jan. 2, more than 70,000 COVID-19 tests were completed among staff and residents. A total of 2,532 people tested positive for COVID-19; 1,423 new cases among residents and 1,109 new cases among staff; this is a positivity rate of just under 4% and significantly lower than the positivity rate among the general public (15%).
The proportion of deaths occurring among residents at skilled nursing facilities has dropped from 50% last summer to under 7% this winter.
More broadly, public health officials confirmed 88 new deaths and 9,927 new cases of COVID-19 Monday. The number of new cases and deaths reported Monday reflects a reporting lag from over the weekend and holiday. There are 7,328 COVID-positive patients currently hospitalized, 23% in the ICU, and the Southern California Region continues to have 0% available ICU capacity.
“Given the emergence of variants that may be more easily transmissible, now would be the time to figure out how you should modify your current activities to reduce exposure to others since many people who are out and about are infected with COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of Public Health. “Please continue to stay home as much as possible, wear a face covering and stay at least 6 feet away from people you do not live with at all times.”
Public Health will host a COVID-19 vaccine virtual town hall Tuesday from 6–7:30 p.m. Join the town hall to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, how it was developed, where it will be distributed in communities, and when it will be made available to the general public. The town hall will be streamed live on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @lapublichealth. For more information and to submit a question, visit: tinyurl.com/askcovidtownhall.
