County Reports 35 New COVID Deaths, Some Dating Back to September

Los Angeles County reported nearly three dozen new COVID-19 deaths in its latest data, but noted the fatalities represent a review of death certificates dating back to Sept. 1, accounting for the unusually high daily number.

The 35 new deaths lifted the county's overall virus-related death toll to 26,903.

Meanwhile, another 893 new cases were reported, with the county Department of Public Health stating that it has received a "lower than average volume of test results" for the past two days, contributing to the low case numbers reported on Monday and Tuesday. Only 824 new infections were reported Monday.

The new cases announced Tuesday gave the county a cumulative total from throughout the pandemic of 1,513,016.

The rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 1.3% as of Tuesday.

According to state figures, there were 640 COVID-positive patients in county hospitals as of Tuesday, up from 632 on Monday. Of those hospitalized, 162 were being treated in intensive care, up from 156 the previous day.

County officials said statistics show that unvaccinated adults over age 50 are more than 12 times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID than their vaccinated counterparts. For those aged 18 to 49, unvaccinated people are 20 times more likely to be hospitalized.

Of the vaccinated people who have been hospitalized due to COVID in the county, the median age is 66, and more than half of them had three or more underlying health conditions. For unvaccinated people, the median age of those hospitalized with COVID is 54, and only 28% had three or more underlying health conditions, according to the county.

"As Thanksgiving approaches, those still not fully vaccinated need to take extra precautions," county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "With relatively high rates of community transmission, unvaccinated young people are vulnerable to becoming infected and spreading infection to others creating additional risk for holiday gatherings. Don't inadvertently host COVID this Thanksgiving. If you aren't vaccinated, get tested and stay masked if you are around non-household people this Thanksgiving."

Of the more than 5.9 million fully vaccinated people in the county, 72,163 have subsequently tested positive, for a rate of 1.22%, according to the county. A total of 2,424 vaccinated people have been hospitalized, for a rate of 0.041%, and 396 have died, a rate of 0.007%.

As of last week, 81% of county residents aged 12 and over have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine, and 73% are fully vaccinated. Of the county's overall 10.3 million population, 70% have received at least one dose, and 63% are fully vaccinated.