LA County’s COVID hospitalizations climb back over 700

The number of COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals has climbed back over 700, increasing by 27 people to 714, according to the latest state figures released on Saturday, Feb. 18.

Of those patients, 82 were being treated in intensive care, up from 75 the previous day. Some of the patients were hospitalized for other reasons and learned they had COVID after a mandated test. The hospitalization total has hovered in the high 600s for several weeks, but the county’s COVID test-positivity rate has seen a slight increase in recent days.

The latest numbers come on day after local health officials reported another 1,096 COVID-19 cases, along with 17 new virus-related deaths. The new cases gave the county a cumulative total from throughout the pandemic of 3,694,317. The daily case numbers released by the county are undercounts of actual virus activity in the county, due to people who use at-home tests and don’t report the results, and others who don’t test at all. The county’s COVID death toll rose to 35,545. The majority of people who die with COVID-19 are elderly or have an underlying health condition such as diabetes, heart disease or hypertension.

Touting the benefits of the latest COVID vaccine, county health officials said that older residents inoculated with the bivalent booster shot are dramatically less likely to be hospitalized or die if they are infected with the virus.

According to the county, unvaccinated adults aged 80 and above were more than three times as likely to be hospitalized and more than 5 1/2 times as likely to die than those who had received the bivalent booster. For people aged 65 to 79, unvaccinated people were 12 times more likely to be hospitalized thank those with the latest booster shot, and nearly 16 times more likely to die, according to the Department of Public Health.

“The data clearly shows that the bivalent booster provides substantial protection against hospitalization and death across all age groups, and this is especially important for older residents who face the great risks,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “While the continued affirmation that our vaccines and the new bivalent booster work well is great news, it is also distressing to know that resources that help prevent death are available, and that they are not being taken full advantage of.”

The vaccine does not prevent people from contracting or spreading the virus, but health officials say it reduces the likelihood of severe symptoms or death for those who are infected. The county’s test positivity rate as of Friday, Feb. 17, was 6.5%, up from 5.9% on Feb. 9.

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