Health Director: City Still Experiencing Surge in COVID-19 Cases

On Monday, Public Health Director Dr. Ying-Ying Goh updated the City Council on the city’s battle against COVID-19.

“We are still experiencing a surge,” Dr. Goh said. “We are in the same high level of transmission as LA County and Long Beach.”

According to Goh the local case rate has risen to 31 new cases per day since July 4.

No fully vaccinated residents have died from the virus in Pasadena.

Unvaccinated residents are 3.5 times more likely than vaccinated residents to contract the virus.

Children under 12 right now cannot be vaccinated against the virus. Goh said since school began last week, some school age children tested positive.

Goh did not list the schools involved.

“We need to monitor that issue closely,” said Mayor Victor Gordo. Gordo called on the district to mandate vaccinations late last month.

However, the district did not take action. Last week Gov. Gavin Newsom mandated that workers at schools be vaccinated or undergo mandatory testing.

Gordo said the city should be prepared to move quickly once younger children can receive the vaccine.

Gordo recommended the city start an opt-in program that would provide incentives for businesses that mandate employee vaccinations and signage to identify those businesses to the public to increase consumer confidence among the public.

Gordo said he received positive feedback from the business community.

According to the latest data provided to Pasadena Now on Monday, authorities in Pasadena reported 59 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend, and 49 cases on Monday. No new fatalities have been reported since Friday.

Currently there are 34 patients battling the virus at Huntington Hospital, according to President and CEO Dr. Lori Morgan. Eight of them are in the Intensive Care Unit.

“We have seen quite a dramatic increase in the number of patients that have been hospitalized,” Morgan said.

The hospital was down to less than five patients in the Intensive Care Unit last month.

“We were down to two or three,” Morgan said. “We are nowhere close to where we were in January. We are hoping not to go back there again.

According to Morgan, all of the COVID-19 patients at Huntington were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

“Delta will not be the last variant that you are going to hear about,” Morgan said.

City Manager Steve Mermell said the city continues to protect municipal employees.

“We continue to enforce the rules to make sure our workforce stays safe,” said Mermell.

With the newly provided blessing of the federal government, L.A. County health officials began offering third doses of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines Saturday 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 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 are being 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.

The booster shots received final approval last week from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.