With the newly provided blessing of the federal government, Los Angeles County health officials Saturday will begin offering third doses of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for people with severely compromised immune systems.
Among those qualifying for the booster shots are organ transplant recipients, people undergoing cancer treatment, HIV patients and people on select “immunosuppressive medications.” The Los Angeles County Public Health Department urged people to consult their doctors to confirm their eligibility for the third shot, which should be administered at least 28 days following the second dose. The third doses will be offered at vaccination sites in the county offering the Pfizer and Moderna shots. People looking for the shots will be able to simply “self-attest” that they have a qualifying medical condition.
“Studies have shown immunocompromised people are more likely to have post vaccination infection and become severely ill from COVID-19,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “An additional vaccine dose for some people with weakened immune systems could help prevent serious illness and death.
“If you have a qualifying condition, we encourage you to speak to your health care provider about getting a third dose,” Ferrer said. “We also encourage those who are close contacts of immunocompromised people to get vaccinated as soon as possible in order to protect their family members and friends who are at higher risk.”
The booster shots received final approval this week from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County reported another 19 COVID-19 deaths on Friday, along with 3,810 more infections. The new fatalities brought the county’s overall death toll from the virus to 24,872, while the cumulative number of cases from throughout the pandemic increased to 1,342,839. As of Friday, the rolling daily average rate was 4.1%, down from more than 6% just two weeks ago.
Ferrer has said the county should expect to see elevated daily numbers of new infections, given newly imposed testing requirements at many businesses and schools. But she said the testing positivity rate will hopefully remain low.
For the second day in a row, the county saw a small drop in the number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 on Friday. According to state figures, there were 1,627 hospital patients in the county with COVID, with 381 of them in intensive care. That’s down from 1,645 patients on Thursday. The ICU number, however, is up from 361 on Thursday.
County figures show that the vast majority of people hospitalized with COVID are not vaccinated. During the month of July, vaccinated residents represented just 13% of people hospitalized with the virus. Ferrer continue to press the effectiveness of vaccines, noting that while some fully vaccinated people can still become infected with COVID, they are far less likely to become seriously ill.
Of the 5.1 million vaccinated people in the county as of Aug. 10, 21,532 have tested positive for COVID-19, for a rate of 0.42%. A total of 549 fully vaccinated people have been hospitalized, for a rate of 0.01%, and 55 have died, for a rate of 0.0011%.
As of Aug. 8, 72% of the county’s eligible residents age 12 and over have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 63% are fully vaccinated. Among the county’s overall population of roughly 10.3 million people — including more than 1 million people ineligible for shots because they’re under age 12 — 62% have received at least one dose and 54% are fully vaccinated.
Ferrer said statistics show that unvaccinated people are 3.6 times more likely to become infected with COVID than vaccinated people.
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William says
WW
Oh, you and your “taint”. Get over it. You can’t see it.
Tim Scott says
At this point the more Trumpists that refuse the vaccine and prefer to just die of covid the better, if only they would go quietly and unobtrusively without being a load on the health care system.
William says
or else they’ll eat your babies.
Isn’t that some right wing insanity?
How can so many be so effing nutz? And, proud of it.
Trumpist#1 says
Wish I had said that, volume 1.
“I mean, I enjoy mocking a paranoid delusion as much as the next guy, but I need more details here.”
“I have mockery paralysis! Your three complaints are all equally ridiculous and I can’t decide which to abuse you for.”
“Do you have a severely compromised immune system Alfred, or are you just reading impaired?”
LMAO. The Man’s in top form.
Tim Scott says
I will make myself available for autographs.
Crossroads says
Incredible that you liberals are open to a test that you guy’s have no knowledge of what is going into your body…. If the first trials didn’t work what makes you think that a 3rd or 4th injection will work …. You guy’s are brainwashed do you really think that they care about your health lol it sounds good if they really cared about your health they would not allow Weed stands in every corner….
Stuvey says
Government’s principle preoccupation, robbing us, humiliating us, disenfranchising us, thinking up new and creative ways of wiping us out, leveraging 50 times over every cent they squeeze, squandering it on their high spending socialist follies. They’re not particularly good at vaccines.
Tim Scott says
Has it ever occurred to you to wonder exactly WHO this government is that you think is intent on wiping “us” out?
I mean, I enjoy mocking a paranoid delusion as much as the next guy, but I need more details here.
Tim Scott says
lololol…well you are right about the decisive policy part. Cleaning up after the GOP does require decisive actions.
William says
Did you think that yourself, Joyce?
It sounds like a “copy and paste”.
Gosh. You must be so proud of your abilities to parrot right wing dogma. Or, is it “dog doo”. Same thing and you’re soaking in it.
Jomar says
Last time we let nationalist socialist democrats try ‘n solve a problem:
1). the Obamacare
2). Deepwater Horizon
3). Fast ‘n Furious
This fresh new crop of overfed, entitled democrats, it’s the great leap backward.
Tim Scott says
I have mockery paralysis!
Your three complaints are all equally ridiculous and I can’t decide which to abuse you for.
William says
Well, you’re no help Jomar the Magnificent.
Tim Scott says
“Most certainly”? Is that higher or lower standard of proof as compared to “the pillow man says…”
William says
Allow me to school whathername…Taimia.
““The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers’ Party was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945, …”
You are clueless little lady. That’s your party…the fascist right in America, i.g., Proud Boys, Qanon, Fox ‘news’ and you.
Stinger says
Tell me something, there, Mr. Natural… When’s the last time that you ready the ingredients on the side of the box for your food? Did you understand everything that you read on there, if you did? Gee… trusting soul, ain’t ya?
Hey – have you had Mumps lately? How about Polio? Rubella? No? Gee… Why not? And, how would I know that you haven’t, without meeting you? Vaccines.
Shut up and get your shots.
Tim Scott says
Do you have a severely compromised immune system Alfred, or are you just reading impaired?
Alfred says
… second jab was bad enough. My faith in the virology vocation somewhat lacking, their credibility’s pretty much shot –
Tim Scott says
lololol…yeah, shot for sure…if you are daft.
This corona vaccine is a breakthrough technology, and once the dust settles and they get back to what they were originally working on it for (oh, wait, you probably bought into the idea that they just dropped what they were doing to answer Trump’s call, huh?) I expect they will be credited with…well, not quire finding the holy grail, but pretty close.
Once you can teach your immune system to protect you against something without first having to expose you to that something there’s some pretty amazing possibilities that open up.
However, Trumpists will no doubt continue to prove there is no cure for stupid and clog our hospitals with patients requiring critical care for a preventable disease.
Kirk says
Same criminals making the vaccine who made the virus, I don’t think they’ll have many takers standing in line for a 3rd jab.
Tim Scott says
lololol, Kirk…
Did the pillow guy tell you that?
Ellie says
Principle reason government employs virologists is, to cook-up bio-weapons, not vaccines. Painfully apparent, they’re not very good at either one.
Not since the 50's says
Completely true in your nation. How’s the weather in Moscow, comrade?
Tim Scott says
Welllll….more like 80s…old Ronnie Ray Gun never met a weapons program he didn’t like…and print the money to buy.
Not since the 50's says
Do you have anything remotely resembling a credible reference for US, 80’s germ warfare programs?
I’m not a believer. While smart rocks became rail guns – – bio-weapons? I don’t think so
Tim Scott says
Nah, just personal observations made at the time as an integral part of one of those weapons programs old Ronnie Ray Gun printed the money to buy.
Russ says
Read your comment last month, rough go of it with the Moderna. They gave me the same stuff. I’m going through the same thing. I wonder what bat-sh_t they put in that stuff? Kicking my ass pretty good. Should have taken your advice.
Alfred says
Heya there, Russ! Here’s hoping this finds you well. I popped hydrocodone and a Tylenol. It helped considerably, winnowing away the side effects. Takes just over three months shaking it off. I’m left somewhat weakened, though. But, doing much better.
William says
Russ and Alfred. I had the 2 Modernas in March with no problems at all.
Have you ever had similar issues with other vaccines or meds?
Millions have had the vaccines with no problems so don’t make up chit. It’s you not the vaccine.
Tim Scott says
Given that 97% of the people dying are unvaccinated how exactly is the vaccine making people worse? Are the very few vaccinated people that are dying somehow deader than the rest?
Tim Scott says
Wow! Is your agreement supposed to take the place of facts and evidence and all that stuff?