Los Angeles County has experienced a significant drop in COVID-19-related hospitalizations.
Hospitalizations peaked nearly three weeks ago with close to 1,800 people being treated for COVID-19. The number of patients has since dropped about 20 percent.
“This is kind of how Delta behaves in many places,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco.
“We call it a hurricane. It comes in quick and then it brings down hospitalizations and cases quick. Why? Because it’s really transmissible. It leaves immunity in its wake. You start seeing hospitalizations and cases going down as a result," she said.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 1,540 new cases and 11 new deaths due to COVID-19 Monday. The department acknowledged that the data may not be entirely accurate due to reporting delays over the weekend.
The department’s director, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, called the vaccines a “game-changer” in reducing deaths and hospitalizations.
“Among the nearly 5.3 million fully vaccinated people in L.A. County, less than 1% of all those vaccinated have become infected with COVID-19, only 0.02% of those who tested positive were hospitalized, and among all fully vaccinated people, death from COVID is exceedingly rare with 0.0022% having passed away,” she said in a Saturday statement.
Gandhi pointed out that many more people have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19 since a Delta-driven surge began earlier this summer.
At least 65 percent of eligible county residents are now fully vaccinated.
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