Public Health Reports Increase in COVID-19 Transmission Among Unvaccinated Younger People

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

County of Los Angeles Public Health reported on Saturday, July 10, that transmission of COVID-19 throughout the county is increasing among younger unvaccinated residents.

“Of the 1,094 new cases of COVID-19 reported by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health today, 83% are among people under the age of 50 years old, with the highest number of new cases among residents between the ages of 18 and 49 with 70% of new cases,” according to a statement shared Saturday. “Because of the intermingling and summer social activities, and the circulation of more variants of concern like the highly transmissible Delta variant, Public Health continues to caution there is increased risk of COVID-19 infection for people who aren’t fully vaccinated.”

Five days in a row, LA County saw more than 1,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. One month ago, the five-day average of cases was 201, meaning an increase of more than 500%.

Public Health reiterated in the statement that the best protection against COVID-19 is to get fully vaccinated, as well as recommended that anyone not fully vaccinated take “sensible precautions,” including wearing a mask in indoor public settings with people outside of the same residence, moving social activities outdoors as much as possible, and washing hands and using hand sanitizer frequently when outside of the home.

“As cases increase, the urgency to get more people vaccinated is rising,” Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer shared in the statement. “Nearly 100% of new cases are occurring among those not fully vaccinated. All of our COVID-19 vaccines are very effective at protecting you from severe disease from COVID-19 and variants of concern like the Delta variant.”

Anyone 12 and older living or working throughout LA County is eligible to get vaccinated. At county-run vaccination sites, LA City sites and St. John’s Well Child and Family Center sites, everyone 18 and older that goes to get vaccinated will have an opportunity to win one of seven packages of concert tickets through Thursday, July 15.

As of July 12, 80% of Pacific Palisades and 78% of Palisades Highlands residents have gotten at least one shot, according to data from Public Health.

As the Palisadian-Post went to print Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 had reached 1,259,772 across the county when factoring in Long Beach and Pasadena, with 24,554 deaths.

Pacific Palisades had reached 878 confirmed cases and 15 deaths Tuesday, with an additional 155 in Palisades Highlands and one death.