Los Angeles County reported 916 new COVID-19 cases and 10 additional deaths associated with the coronavirus on Sunday, Oct. 24, though those numbers may reflect an undercount because of lags in weekend reporting.
Sunday’s update brought the county’s overall totals to 1,485,105 cases and 26,549 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The rolling seven-day average positivity rate was 0.7% for the second straight day after being at 0.9% the previous four days.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county dropped from 614 Saturday to 610, according to state figures. There were 179 such patients in intensive care, up from 175 a day earlier.
Los Angeles County providers, meanwhile, have begun offering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to people who previously received any of the three vaccinations in circulation.
Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approved the wider distribution of booster shots Friday, following a recommendation Thursday from a CDC advisory panel.
Booster doses had previously been available only for people who received the Pfizer vaccine during their initial doses. The new CDC approval now offers booster shots to people who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Under the federal guidance, people can receive a different brand of booster shot than their original doses.
LA County began offering the boosters on Friday. Long Beach, which has its own health department, began doing the same on Saturday.
Booster shots are available for people who are:
- 65 years of age or older.
- Aged 18 and older and living in long-term care settings.
- Aged 18 and older with underlying medical conditions.
- Aged 18 and older and living or working in high-risk settings.
People who received the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna shots should not receive a booster until at least six months after their last dose. For the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, people must wait at least two months after their shot.
“While we continue prioritizing getting unvaccinated people vaccinated against COVID-19,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a recent statement, “we encourage everyone who is eligible to enhance their immunity by getting a booster dose.”
Most vaccination sites do not require appointments and shots are usually available on a walk-in basis. But appointments can be made at VaccinateLACounty.com or in Spanish at VacunateLosAngeles.com.
Countywide, 79% of eligible county residents aged 12 and older had received at least one dose of vaccine, according to numbers released Thursday, and 71% were fully vaccinated.
“It is important that those at high risk because of their age, underlying health conditions or occupational setting get their booster dose,” Ferrer said, “and we’re encouraging people that fall into these higher-risk categories, to please make sure you are getting your boosters well before the holidays.”
