80.5% of Pasadenans Vaccinated Against COVID-19

More than 80% of Pasadena residents over the minimum eligible age of 12 have been vaccinated against COVID-19, public health officials said Tuesday.

In addition to the 80.5% of the local population that has been fully vaccinated, another 8.4% of residents have received single doses of two-dose vaccine regimens, according to the Pasadena Public Health Department.

Huntington Hospital Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Kimberly Shriner warned that the virus, and especially the Delta variant, pose a significant threat and urged all who are eligible for vaccination but have not done so to get immunized.

“Unvaccinated individuals are at huge risk of infection with this very aggressive and lethal form of SARSCoV2. “Indeed, is it in many ways a second pandemic; a newer, more ferocious pathogen ripping through the unvaccinated. Vulnerable among us are the immune impaired who may not respond to the vaccines and children who do not even have the choice of vaccination at this time,” Shriner said.

“It is the responsibility of all of us, including the unvaccinated, to protect these populations,” she said.

Pasadena Health officials announced Monday that they intended to mandate masks be worn indoors in the near future, falling in line with Los Angeles County Health Department policy.

Fourteen new infections were detected in the city on Tuesday, according to city records. No deaths were reported.

All told, Pasadena has seen 11,572 cases of the virus and 351 fatalities.

The average daily number of infections over the prior week held steady at 14.4

Officials at Huntington Hospital reported 12 COVID-19 patients were being treated at the facility on Tuesday, up from eight last week. One of the patients was being cared for in an intensive care unit.

Infections continued mounting countywide, with 1,821 new infections and five deaths reported on Sunday, bringing Los Angeles County’s pandemic totals to 1,270,886 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 24,587 deaths.

Officials reported 544 patients hospitalized with the virus on Tuesday, with 22% of those people being treated in intensive care units, according to an L.A. County Department of Public Health statement.

“Two weeks ago, there were 273 people hospitalized with COVID-19 illness,” the statement said.

L.A. County Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer reiterated that the overwhelming majority of recent infections were preventable.

“Most of the illness and death experienced among L.A. County residents from COVID-19 is preventable because of the vaccines current availability. And while the vaccines are not perfect at preventing all infections and illness, they continue to offer a powerful tool for reducing transmission,” Ferrer said.

Adding masking for everyone indoors provides an additional layer of protection to counter the very infectious Delta variant,” Ferrer said. “And while it is disappointing that we are again witnessing a surge in cases, compliance with the new mask directive and increasing vaccination rates provide us with strategies for getting back to low rates of transmission.”

State public health officials documented 4,723 infections and four deaths on Tuesday, raising the state’s totals to 3,767,185 cases of COVID-19 and 63,653 associated fatalities.

The statewide average positivity rate continued trending upward to 4.2%, according to California Department of Public Health data.

As of Tuesday, L.A. County accounted for 34% of California’s COVID-19 infections and 39% of the state’s deaths.

The very dangerous #DeltaVariant has already been detected in our community, and it poses the greatest risk to the unvaccinated. Huntington Hospital's Dr. Kimberly Shriner urges everyone who is eligible to #GetVaccinated today! Read her full message at https://t.co/3qT1LfKm2b. pic.twitter.com/MgF0QQiR3O

— City of Pasadena (@PasadenaGov) July 20, 2021