The Crosstown Vaccine Tracker

A look at the weekly trends in Los Angeles infections and inoculations
Health
By

Illustration to show the mask mandate in effect again in L.A. County

 

The pressure to compel coronavirus vaccinations across the region is increasing. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved, and Mayor Eric Garcetti signed, an ordinance mandating that people entering restaurants, gyms, salons and other indoor facilities in the city show proof of vaccination (it will go into effect for the 12-and-up crowd in November). As of Sept. 30, healthcare and homecare workers are required to be fully inoculated. Starting today, outdoor mega-events will require complete vaccination or a negative test result for entry. Crosstown is keeping track of the latest coronavirus information to deliver the most important data about infections and vaccinations.

 

Shots in the arm

Weekly vaccination rates continue to sit in the low 100,000s, and second doses have dipped to the lowest point since vaccinations opened to residents who are 12 and up. From Sept. 24-30, a total of 135,461 doses were put into arms across the county, including 42,155 second doses, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. One week prior, nearly 240,000 vaccinations were administered.

 

As of Sept. 30 (the most recent day for which data is available), 12,480,536 doses had been dispensed to Los Angeles County residents. A total of 5,551,696 cumulative second doses had been administered. No information is yet available on how many people have received a third “booster” shot, which currently is limited to people who are 65 or older, or younger county residents with an underlying health condition or who work in industries that bring them into contact with large numbers of people.

Pie chart of LA County residents vaccinated

So far 77.6% of county residents 12 and older have received at least one dose, and 69% are fully vaccinated. Of those who are 65 and older, 92.3% have received at least one dose, and 83% are considered fully protected.

 

Case by case

The average COVID-19 case rate continues to drop, decreasing by 13.8% from Sept. 28-Oct. 5. In the previous seven-day period, average cases fell by 11.6%. On Tuesday, the seven-day average was 1,247. This is the lowest figure since mid-July.

 

The seven-day average of deaths continues to bounce around in the 20s. On Tuesday, the average stood at 22, a 15.4% drop from one week prior. This is likely to decline further in the near future; COVID-19 deaths tend to rise or fall depending on the number of people who contracted the virus a month or two prior, and cases have generally been decreasing since around the start of September.  

 

Daily hospitalization figures also continue to drop, hitting levels not seen since late July. On Tuesday, 768 Angelenos were hospitalized with COVID-19, marking a 50% decline from the 1,537 people hospitalized one month prior.

Daily coronavirus positivity rate in Los Angeles County, Aug. 1-Oct. 6

Line chart of positivity rate

On Tuesday, the daily positivity rate decreased to 0.9%; this is the lowest figure since June 28. The recent high point was the 6.6% positivity on Aug. 3, marking an 86% drop in just over two months.

 

Positivity is even lower among students attending the nation’s second largest school district. From Sept. 30-Oct. 6, the Los Angeles Unified School District conducted 458,180 coronavirus tests (all students and staff are required to be tested each week). There were 537 positive tests, resulting in a positivity rate of 0.12%.

 

How we did it: We analyzed coronavirus data related to new cases, deaths, hospitalization and vaccinations data provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, as well as data from the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

 

Interested in our data? Check out the Crosstown coronavirus interactive map or email us at askus@xtown.la.