More Californians died of COVID-19 in January than in any other month of the pandemic, according to data from The Times tracker, with LA County continuing to suffer from the virus’s toll.
In the first month of 2021, 14,940 people lost their lives from the disease in California, bringing the state’s death toll to nearly 41,000, indicating that at least 1 in 1,000 Californians has died from COVID-19.
In Los Angeles County, 6,411 people died in January – 137% more than the previous most deadly month of December, which saw 2,703 people die. To date, nearly 17,000 people have died of the disease in the province.
The record number of deaths comes despite a downward trend in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, as well as increasing vaccinations in Los Angeles County.
Currently, only about 2,700 deaths separate California and New York, where just over 43,600 people have died from the disease since the start of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. But New York saw its peak in April, while California is still reeling from a wave that started in late November.
She called it a “critical moment in the pandemic,” Barbara Ferrer, LA County Health Director, said on Monday that it is important that the public doesn’t relax, even though some numbers have improved and restrictions have been lifted.
“It’s … time to stay vigilant against this deadly virus and stay at home as much as possible,” Ferrer said. “Only through the actions that every LA County company and individual is taking will we see this continued reduction in carryover.”
The LA County rise peaked in early January, Ferrer said, after which the mean daily deaths from COVID-19 fell by about 33%. But, she noted, it was “really only a very small drop” compared to the 1,400% rise in deaths that hit the county in December and January.
“Any additional increase in cases requires us to take a step back in our recovery journey, and that’s something none of us want,” Ferrer said. “We still live through a wave’s nightmare.”
Nationally, the numbers are equally stark: More than 95,000 people in the US died from COVID-19 in January, up from the previous December high of just over 77,000. More than 441,000 people have died across the country since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported just over a year ago.
Still, Los Angeles County continues to suffer disproportionately: LA has recorded more deaths than any other county in the US, according to Johns Hopkins. Chicago’s Cook County is a distant second with 9,420 dead.
LA County now has an average of about 6,200 new cases of coronavirus per day during the past week, significantly lower than the average of about 15,100 new cases recorded per day in early January, but still much higher than the daily average of less than 1,000 new cases per day in mid-October.
The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 is now about 5,300, the lowest number since mid-December. COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked in LA County on Jan. 5, peaking at 8,098, but they are still much higher than in early October, when there were fewer than 700 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in the county.
The average daily number of COVID-19 deaths is still high in LA County – about 215 deaths per day in the past week. The highest daily average was 241, recorded for the seven-day period ending January 14.
Found a Times analysis that there were 63.5 deaths per 100,000 LA County residents in January. Statewide, the rate was 38.2.
A major concern for civil servants is the rise of the B.1.1.7 variant, which has kept the province on its toes. Officials from the LA County Department of Public Health on Saturday confirmed the second case of the UK variant, which is more transmissible and potentially more deadly than the more common variant of the coronavirus.
The B.1.1.7 variety, first identified in Great Britain, is not believed to be a dominant species in LA County, but San Diego County officials and experts have warned that the rise there could likely overwhelm hospitals if people decide to stop wearing masks and distance themselves physically like they did in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.
Officials are urging residents and businesses to remain vigilant about personal protection measures and security measures.
“Just because some sectors have reopened, this does not mean that the risk of community transmission has disappeared,” Ferrer said in a press release. “That’s not the case, and each of us has to make very careful choices about what we do and how we do it. This virus is strong, and we are now concerned about variants and what they will mean in our region. “
Public health officials announced the first confirmed case of the UK’s COVID-19 variant in the county on Jan. 16. Days later, a second, “native” strain, B.1.426, was found to be responsible for nearly a quarter of the 4,500 viral samples collected across California in the last weeks of 2020.
In addition, four new cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children were reported by health officials on Saturday, bringing the total number of MIS-C cases in LA County to 66 children, including one death.
MIS-C is an inflammatory condition related to COVID-19. Symptoms include a fever that does not go away and inflamed parts of the body including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal tract.
All 66 children with MIS-C in LA County were hospitalized, officials said, and 44% were admitted to intensive care. 32% of the infected were younger than 5; 38% were from 5 to 11 years old; and 30% were between 12 and 20 years old.
Nearly three-quarters of the reported MIS-C cases were Hispanic children, continuing the terrifyingly high levels of COVID-19-related illness among the country’s Latino population.
“There is deep grief, grief and loss in our province as a result of COVID-19,” Ferrer said. “While some restrictions have just been lifted in our county, we are still at a very dangerous time in terms of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.”
The last time hospitals were able to provide their full range of services was in early November, when there were fewer than 900 COVID-19 patients in LA County facilities, Ferrer said Monday, adding direction, we still have a way to go before our hospitals are not overcrowded and health workers are not stressed. ”
The latest data shows that the most recent rise was again caused by younger adults, but caused the most hospitalizations and deaths among most older residents.
Of a sample of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from August to December, 43% were 65 years of age or older and 86% had at least one underlying health condition. Two out of three hospitalized patients were overweight or obese; 41% had type 2 diabetes and almost two thirds had cardiovascular disease.
“These numbers strongly remind us of the risk of serious illness in older adults and those with underlying health problems,” Ferrer said. “A lot of people in LA County fall into one or more of these high-risk groups, and we all have to do our very best to protect them.”
Meanwhile, vaccination efforts in the province continue despite a rocky start and an anti-vaccination demonstration that deterred operations at Dodger Stadium over the weekend. Officials on Monday criticized protesters blocking access to people trying to get vaccines.
“I was very upset and discouraged,” said Hilda Solis, LA County supervisor, of the disruption to the vaccination efforts.
Solis said authorities will in the future create space for protesters who can share their views but “will not disrupt the flow of traffic.”
“I understand people have the rights of the First Amendment … But if you get disruptive and actually cause more problems from congestion, traffic jams or hostility in a way that is not conducive, then I would like our public security officials to get involved are there to protect everyone involved, ”Solis said.
According to The Times vaccination tracker, more than 886,000 doses of the two types of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across the country to date.
“LA County has delivered more vaccine doses today than any other major county or city in the United States, and we have the highest delivery rate,” Ferrer said.
But the shipments were inconsistent. For the week of Jan. 11, LA County received 193,950 vaccine doses; the following week it received only 168,575 doses and only 146,225 doses the following week.
“The rate of vaccinations remains very slow due to the limited supply,” Ferrer said, adding that second doses are currently a priority among the residents of the region.