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News Release
Los Angeles County Public Health Logo

313 N. Figueroa Street, Room 806  |  Los Angeles, CA 90012  |  (213) 288-8144  |  media@ph.lacounty.gov

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For Immediate Release:

March 21, 2022

With Gradual Increase of BA.2 Subvariant in LA County, Layering of Safety Protections Critical for Residents and Workers at Elevated Risk - 565 New Positive Cases Reported on Sunday, 370 New Positive Cases Reported Today, and 29 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

As multiple COVID metrics continue to decline, the state is lifting the requirements for vaccine and test verification at indoor mega events starting April 1. LA County will align with the state and post an updated Health Officer Order later this week. While we’re encouraged with the progress made, as the BA.2 subvariant gradually increases in LA County, layering in safety measures remains important for protecting residents and workers at elevated risk of severe illness.

For the latest measurement period, the week ending February 26th, 6.4% of all sequenced specimens in LA County were identified as the BA.2 subvariant, an increase from the week prior when 4.5% of specimens were identified as BA.2.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the BA.2 subvariant now accounts for 23% of all sequenced specimens nationally, with the Northeast region seeing higher percentages than other regions. For example, New York City reported that the Omicron subvariant BA.2 accounts for nearly 30% of cases. The BA.2 subvariant also accounts for over 20% of the cases in the Midwest, with 20% identified as BA.2 in Chicago.

Although LA County has identified a lower percentage of cases to date associated with BA.2 when compared to some other cities, this is a similar pattern as seen with previous new virus strains and residents should be prepared to mitigate the risk of increased transmission associated with this more infectious subvariant.

Efforts to slow transmission remain a priority, particularly by increasing vaccination and booster coverage, as data has shown that these approved vaccines provide significant protection against variants.

As of March 17, 83% of LA County residents ages five and older had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 75% were fully vaccinated. Additionally, 57% of eligible residents ages 12 and older received the additional protection of a booster. This leaves about 2.6 million booster-dose eligible residents not benefiting from the extra protection of a booster dose.

With gaps in coverage by race/ethnicity, age groups, and geography, there are many pockets of vulnerability across the county. Only 30% of children ages 5-11 are fully vaccinated, the lowest of any age group, compared with 85% fully vaccinated youth ages 12-17.

As of March 13, 55% of Black residents and 59% of Latinx residents are fully vaccinated, compared with 73% of White residents and 82% of Asian residents.

There are also certain geographic regions with lower vaccination coverage than others, including parts of the San Gabriel Valley, South Central LA, and the Antelope Valley. As of February 27, there were also significant gaps in booster coverage with only 31% of residents five and older living in low-resourced communities receiving a booster dose, compared with 43% of residents five and older living in better resourced communities.

“As always, we extend our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “The increasing presence of the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant in many regions of this country reminds us that we need to remain vigilant and prepared for the possibility of more cases in the near future. And while discouraging to face this possibility, the best way to blunt another surge in cases from increasing hospitalizations and deaths is to increase vaccination and booster coverage. Given the compelling evidence that the vaccines continue to protect against all variants, and their wide availability, residents and workers are urged to use the next couple of weeks to get to up to date on their vaccines. Waiting until we start seeing increases in cases is not optimal, since once there are more people testing positive, there is already more community transmission.”

Public Health reported 565 new positive cases on Sunday, with an additional 370 positive cases today, and 29 new deaths for Sunday and today. Today’s case and death numbers reflect delays in weekend reporting. Of the 29 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 30-49, six were between the ages of 50-64, six were between the ages of 65-79, and 16 were aged 80 years or older. Of the 29 newly reported deaths, 27 had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,491.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,825,423 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Note that 1,157 additional cases have been added to the cumulative total of positive cases due to a backlog of cases from the surge. Almost all of the backlog cases these past two weeks have been reported from two labs. The California Department of Public Health is aware of these reporting delays which affect case counts across many parts of the state. Today’s positivity rate is 0.6%.

There are 404 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,615,300 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov including:

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

For more information:

Cases through 12:00pm 3/20/2022

Total Cases

Laboratory Confirmed Cases

2,825,423

-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*

2,672,225

-- Long Beach

125,228

-- Pasadena

27,970

Deaths

31,491

-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)

29,827

-- Long Beach

1,256

-- Pasadena

408

Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

- 0 to 4

82147

- 5 to 11

237969

- 12 to 17

232388

- 18 to 29

594659

- 30 to 49

851840

- 50 to 64

442539

- 65 to 79

171804

- over 80

55955

- Under Investigation

2924

Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

- Female

1358710

- Male

1238649

- Other

1006

- Under Investigation

73860

Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

- American Indian/Alaska Native

4911

- Asian

162928

- Black

133852

- Hispanic/Latino

1223216

- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

13581

- White

341969

- Other

296879

- Under Investigation

494889

Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

- Hospitalized (Ever)

135,665

**DATA Under reported

Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)

- American Indian/Alaska Native

73

- Asian

3729

- Black

2752

- Hispanic/Latino

15374

- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

110

- White

7385

- Other

309

- Under Investigation

95

CITY / COMMUNITY**

Cases

Case Rate

City of Agoura Hills

4118

19719

City of Alhambra

16722

19282

City of Arcadia

7933

13736

City of Artesia

4140

24650

City of Avalon

62

1602

City of Azusa

13662

27302

City of Baldwin Park

22775

29667

City of Bell

13796

37972

City of Bell Gardens

14105

32748

City of Bellflower

23196

29840

City of Beverly Hills

8219

23809

City of Bradbury

65

6080

City of Burbank

22039

20563

City of Calabasas

3913

16088

City of Carson

25302

26961

City of Cerritos

8308

16594

City of Claremont

6477

17753

City of Commerce*

4499

34425

City of Compton

32972

33004

City of Covina

14600

29776

City of Cudahy

9964

40925

City of Culver City

7283

18269

City of Diamond Bar

9071

15772

City of Downey

35694

31238

City of Duarte

5137

23333

City of El Monte

32816

27984

City of El Segundo

2750

16383

City of Gardena

16122

26296

City of Glendale

44034

21325

City of Glendora

11694

22163

City of Hawaiian Gardens

4160

28346

City of Hawthorne

22419

25250

City of Hermosa Beach

3258

16563

City of Hidden Hills

257

13598

City of Huntington Park

21921

36852

City of Industry

396

90618

City of Inglewood

29147

25662

City of Irwindale

535

36669

City of La Canada Flintridge

2822

13637

City of La Habra Heights

162

2970

City of La Mirada

10358

20883

City of La Puente

12631

31037

City of La Verne

7019

21089

City of Lakewood

18819

23418

City of Lancaster*

50521

31269

City of Lawndale

8035

23904

City of Lomita

4247

20488

City of Lynwood*

24678

34253

City of Malibu

2060

15894

City of Manhattan Beach

4867

13520

City of Maywood

10525

37524

City of Monrovia

8190

21108

City of Montebello

19121

29703

City of Monterey Park

11375

18270

City of Norwalk

33065

30723

City of Palmdale

52727

33168

City of Palos Verdes Estates

1488

11004

City of Paramount

18854

33654

City of Pico Rivera

20864

32456

City of Pomona

51723

33170

City of Rancho Palos Verdes

4807

11245

City of Redondo Beach

9843

14328

City of Rolling Hills

187

9639

City of Rolling Hills Estates

977

12042

City of Rosemead

10701

19333

City of San Dimas*

7996

23166

City of San Fernando

10381

42179

City of San Gabriel

7511

18340

City of San Marino

1400

10545

City of Santa Clarita

53576

24306

City of Santa Fe Springs

6313

34377

City of Santa Monica

16740

18108

City of Sierra Madre

1505

13696

City of Signal Hill

2821

23913

City of South El Monte

6542

31324

City of South Gate

38197

38915

City of South Pasadena

3949

15158

City of Temple City

6130

16815

City of Torrance

22497

15072

City of Vernon

308

147368

City of Walnut

4824

15800

City of West Covina

29070

26858

City of West Hollywood

7841

21220

City of Westlake Village

270

3230

City of Whittier

23565

26952

Los Angeles

1162921

28752

Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie

2589

31565

Los Angeles - Alsace

3519

28276

Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest

6

15000

Los Angeles - Angelino Heights

621

24820

Los Angeles - Arleta

13576

39500

Los Angeles - Atwater Village

3497

23844

Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills

7397

23765

Los Angeles - Bel Air

1450

17203

Los Angeles - Beverly Crest

2319

18515

Los Angeles - Beverlywood

2979

22614

Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*

33131

38132

Los Angeles - Brentwood

5414

17490

Los Angeles - Brookside

93

16007

Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning

1808

25390

Los Angeles - Canoga Park

19976

30596

Los Angeles - Carthay

2856

19884

Los Angeles - Central

14815

37995

Los Angeles - Century City

2289

17894

Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove

13441

39806

Los Angeles - Chatsworth

9231

24908

Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills

1602

17468

Los Angeles - Chinatown

1960

24436

Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran

4009

27548

Los Angeles - Country Club Park

3610

23824

Los Angeles - Crenshaw District

3935

28455

Los Angeles - Crestview

2824

24842

Los Angeles - Del Rey

5894

19689

Los Angeles - Downtown*

11614

42222

Los Angeles - Eagle Rock

8956

22622

Los Angeles - East Hollywood

7254

24769

Los Angeles - Echo Park

3291

23085

Los Angeles - El Sereno

13179

31523

Los Angeles - Elysian Park

1352

23669

Los Angeles - Elysian Valley

2701

26556

Los Angeles - Encino

10165

22503

Los Angeles - Exposition

966

29044

Los Angeles - Exposition Park

14248

31721

Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights

878

24389

Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square

3011

34526

Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone

19387

40862

Los Angeles - Glassell Park

7931

25095

Los Angeles - Gramercy Place

3172

29469

Los Angeles - Granada Hills

15865

27264

Los Angeles - Green Meadows

8487

39465

Los Angeles - Hancock Park

3301

19373

Los Angeles - Harbor City

6937

23863

Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway

12067

27677

Los Angeles - Harbor Pines

453

18804

Los Angeles - Harvard Heights

5122

28400

Los Angeles - Harvard Park

14882

39230

Los Angeles - Highland Park

12827

26507

Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown

4236

30541

Los Angeles - Hollywood

15790

23134

Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills

5131

17432

Los Angeles - Hyde Park

9166

32115

Los Angeles - Jefferson Park

2470

30596

Los Angeles - Koreatown

12851

24860

Los Angeles - Lafayette Square

1231

27002

Los Angeles - Lake Balboa

12130

28740

Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace

4566

34767

Los Angeles - Leimert Park

4212

27647

Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights

10004

30690

Los Angeles - Little Armenia

2401

29919

Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh

6770

23886

Los Angeles - Little Tokyo

1076

34344

Los Angeles - Longwood

1314

30530

Los Angeles - Los Feliz

3701

17128

Los Angeles - Manchester Square

2371

27776

Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon

495

15845

Los Angeles - Mar Vista

7129

16786

Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula

641

14702

Los Angeles - Melrose

19827

25519

Los Angeles - Mid-city

3371

22428

Los Angeles - Miracle Mile

3345

18599

Los Angeles - Mission Hills

9347

38746

Los Angeles - Mt. Washington

6295

26072

Los Angeles - North Hills

19880

32286

Los Angeles - North Hollywood

45785

30237

Los Angeles - Northridge

18894

27070

Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades

3218

15114

Los Angeles - Pacoima

31931

41480

Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands

598

15549

Los Angeles - Palms

7783

17738

Los Angeles - Panorama City

26917

35770

Los Angeles - Park La Brea

2205

16237

Los Angeles - Pico-Union

13774

32919

Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey

400

12516

Los Angeles - Playa Vista

2200

20097

Los Angeles - Porter Ranch

7097

19942

Los Angeles - Rancho Park

1378

21006

Los Angeles - Regent Square

633

22770

Los Angeles - Reseda

24448

31909

Los Angeles - Reseda Ranch

1397

30134

Los Angeles - Reynier Village

848

20057

Los Angeles - Sa





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