3 New COVID-19 Infections, 1 Death Reported in Pasadena as Vaccination Effort Continues

Public health officials in Pasadena reported a COVID-19 fatality for the first time in 13 days on Tuesday, along with three new detected infections.

The most recent victim was described as a 96-year-old man who lived in the community at large, as opposed to in a care facility, city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. He succumbed to the virus in mid-March.

Since the start of the pandemic, Pasadena has recorded 11,157 total infections and 336 deaths.

Over the prior week, the city had seen an average of three new infections daily, according to Pasadena Public Health Department data.

Huntington Hospital reported its admitted COVID-19 patients had declined to 10 on Tuesday. The hospital’s intensive care unit remained empty of COVID-19 patients since reaching the milestone on Friday.

Meanwhile, officials conducted small vaccine clinics at Robinson Park, Villa Parke and the Pasadena Public Health Department on Tuesday, with the next large-scale clinic planned Thursday at Pasadena City College, Derderian said.

The clinics this week are focused on providing scheduled second doses of two-dose vaccine regimens.

Pasadena had received only very small amounts of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson formula, and was primarily using the Moderna and Pfizer versions, Derderian said.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 406 new infections and 23 deaths on Monday, which brought the county-wide totals to 1,222,778 cases of COVID-19 and 23,292 fatalities.

A total of 568 people were being treated for the virus at county hospitals, the agency said in a written statement.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer commended the progress and urged the public to continue their efforts, both by getting vaccinated and adhering to social distancing protocols.

“L.A. County continues making progress and we appreciate the efforts of businesses and residents to keep everyone safe,” she said. “When we follow the safety measures and keep vaccinating people efficiently, effectively and equitably, it prevents transmission and a surge in cases. The light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter every day we keep transmission low and more people get vaccinated.”

The California Department of Public Health reported 1,367 new infections and seven deaths on Tuesday. It was unclear why the state tally differed from that of L.A. County, reflecting more than three times fewer fatalities statewide than were reported in L.A. County, alone.

The CDPH listed 3,583,830 total infections and 58,541 deaths.

California’s average positivity rate over the prior week was recorded at 1.6%, officials added.

As of Tuesday, L.A. County accounted for 34% of the state’s COVID-19 infections and 40% of California fatalities.