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Press Release: Highly Infectious BA.2 Subvariant Increasing in LA County, Accounting for 32% of All Specimens Sequenced

County of Los Angeles, California sent this bulletin at 03/31/2022 03:07 PM PDT

Media Contact: media@ph.lacounty.gov - (213) 240-8144

For Immediate Release:
March 31, 2022

Highly Infectious BA.2 Subvariant Increasing in LA County, Accounting for 32% of All Specimens Sequenced

784 New Positive Cases and 16 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County

Note: Starting this week, we will no longer report metrics on the weekends. When we report on Monday, we will separately present the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday metrics.

As the highly infectious BA.2 subvariant increases in LA County and other parts of the world, residents should continue to follow all safety protections, especially residents and workers at elevated risk of severe illness.

For the latest measurement period, the week ending March 12, 32% of all sequenced specimens in LA County were identified as the BA.2 subvariant, double the percentage identified for the week prior ending March 5.

Increases in LA County reflect patterns seen around the world, with the World Health Organization announcing last week that worldwide, BA.2 accounted for 86% of sequenced cases from the prior 4 weeks. And on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that BA.2 is now the dominant variant in the U.S., accounting for approximately 55% of sequenced cases for the week ending March 26.

While there are not yet increases in cases or hospitalizations in LA County, given the increased risk for spread of BA.2, it’s important to take steps to maximize protection against spread, including increasing vaccination and booster rates for residents, as these gaps in vaccination coverage create significant risk.

As of March 27, 83% of LA County residents ages five and older had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 75% were fully vaccinated. Additionally, 57% of eligible residents ages 12 and older received the additional protection of a booster. This leaves about 2.6 million booster-dose eligible residents not benefiting from the extra protection of a booster dose and 1.7 million eligible residents needing to get their first vaccination.

If residents cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons or because their body can’t mount an appropriate immune response to vaccines, they may still be able to be protected with COVID therapeutics. Residents should ask their provider if they’re eligible to receive Evusheld, a new therapeutic for people 12 years and older that can prevent COVID-19. There are also several therapeutics available that can reduce severe illness for people who have been infected with COVID-19. If residents test positive, they should check immediately with their provider whether they are eligible to receive one of these treatments. Residents who don’t have a doctor can call the COVID-19 information line at 833-540-0473, 8:00 am - 8:30 pm daily for more information. Note that the monoclonal antibody medicine Sotrovimab is no longer authorized for use in California due to studies showing less efficacy against BA.2.

Residents can also stock up on the over-the-counter COVID test kits that they can administer themselves at home. Up to two sets of four at home tests can be ordered at no charge from the federal government at www.covidtests.gov. Residents who have health insurance can receive eight free at home tests each month for each insured member in their household. Individuals can also get tested at one of the many free testing sites located throughout the County. Visit www.ph.lacounty.gov/covidtests for information and links to testing sites. Individuals should get tested if they feel sick, have an exposure, or are gathering with others at elevated risk.

Individuals should also continue to wear a mask indoors in public places, especially if they, or others they will be in contact with, are not fully vaccinated, elderly, immunocompromised, or have serious underlying health conditions. Masking is one of the easiest and most effective strategies for protecting ourselves and others from COVID-19.

“We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to everyone mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “We’re about two months out from the peak of our winter surge and have seen significant declines in our cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. However, with case numbers no longer decreasing and increases in the circulation of the more infectious BA.2 subvariant in LA County, now is the time for us to use the tools at hand to decrease both personal and community risk: vaccination, testing, masking and therapeutics. In a similar way that we take steps to be prepared for fires and earthquakes, we now also need to take preparedness actions that allow us to be safe during a pandemic. And just like we don’t wait until there is a fire or an earthquake to make a plan, we don’t need to wait until we are experiencing another surge, to increase our protection. Get vaccinated and boosted, have a supply of test kits, talk to your provider about eligibility for new therapeutics, and wear a well-fitting, high filtration mask in places where the risk for transmission is elevated.”

Today, Public Health reported 16 additional deaths, and 784 new positive cases of COVID-19. Of the 16 new deaths reported today, one person was between the ages of 30-49, four were between the ages of 65-79, and eight were aged 80 years or older. Of the16 newly reported deaths, 11 people had underlying health conditions. Information on the three deaths reported by the City of Pasadena is available at www.CityofPasadena.net. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,669.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,833,206 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Note that 127 additional cases have been added to the cumulative total of positive cases due to a backlog of cases from the surge. Today’s positivity rate is 1.1%.

There are 308 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,689,300 individuals, with 22% of people testing positive.

A wide range of data and dashboards on COVID-19 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are available on the Public Health website at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov including:

COVID-19 Daily Data (cases, deaths, testing, testing positivity rate, mortality rate, and hospitalizations)
Gender, Age, Race/Ethnicity and City/Community Cases and Deaths
Recovery Metrics
Contact Tracing Metrics
Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics
Citations due to Health Officer Order Noncompliance
Outbreaks:

Residential Congregate Settings
Non-Residential Settings
Homeless Service Settings

Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus:

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/
California Department of Public Health:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Spanish https://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
LA County residents can also call 2-1-1

For more information:

Cases through 12:00pm 3/30/2022
	Total Cases
Laboratory Confirmed Cases	2,833,206
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)*	2,679,471
-- Long Beach	125,634
-- Pasadena	28,101
Deaths	31,669
-- Los Angeles County (excl. LB and Pas)	29,996
-- Long Beach	1,261
-- Pasadena	412
Age Group (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- 0 to 4	82392
- 5 to 11	238542
- 12 to 17	233046
- 18 to 29	596535
- 30 to 49	854531
- 50 to 64	443791
- 65 to 79	172379
- over 80	56157
- Under Investigation	2098
Gender (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Female	1362505
- Male	1241914
- Other	1028
- Under Investigation	74024
Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	4917
- Asian	163954
- Black	134365
- Hispanic/Latino	1225584
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	13589
- White	343820
- Other	297681
- Under Investigation	495561
Hospitalization (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- Hospitalized (Ever)	135,948
Deaths Race/Ethnicity (Los Angeles County Cases Only-excl LB and Pas)
- American Indian/Alaska Native	73
- Asian	3748
- Black	2771
- Hispanic/Latino	15448
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	111
- White	7440
- Other	310
- Under Investigation	95
CITY / COMMUNITY**	Cases
City of Agoura Hills	4156
City of Alhambra	16809
City of Arcadia	7981
City of Artesia	4149
City of Avalon	62
City of Azusa	13675
City of Baldwin Park	22816
City of Bell	13814
City of Bell Gardens	14117
City of Bellflower	23231
City of Beverly Hills	8266
City of Bradbury	65
City of Burbank	22137
City of Calabasas	3927
City of Carson	25384
City of Cerritos	8347
City of Claremont	6584
City of Commerce*	4507
City of Compton	33017
City of Covina	14617
City of Cudahy	9983
City of Culver City	7341
City of Diamond Bar	9104
City of Downey	35756
City of Duarte	5143
City of El Monte	32888
City of El Segundo	2758
City of Gardena	16152
City of Glendale	44144
City of Glendora	11717
City of Hawaiian Gardens	4161
City of Hawthorne	22454
City of Hermosa Beach	3278
City of Hidden Hills	259
City of Huntington Park	21958
City of Industry	397
City of Inglewood	29220
City of Irwindale	534
City of La Canada Flintridge	2846
City of La Habra Heights	162
City of La Mirada	10388
City of La Puente	12641
City of La Verne	7033
City of Lakewood	18859
City of Lancaster*	50666
City of Lawndale	8048
City of Lomita	4260
City of Lynwood*	24714
City of Malibu	2082
City of Manhattan Beach	4909
City of Maywood	10532
City of Monrovia	8209
City of Montebello	19142
City of Monterey Park	11441
City of Norwalk	33098
City of Palmdale	52795
City of Palos Verdes Estates	1496
City of Paramount	18876
City of Pico Rivera	20899
City of Pomona	51810
City of Rancho Palos Verdes	4837
City of Redondo Beach	9907
City of Rolling Hills	187
City of Rolling Hills Estates	982
City of Rosemead	10738
City of San Dimas*	8019
City of San Fernando	10400
City of San Gabriel	7544
City of San Marino	1409
City of Santa Clarita	53713
City of Santa Fe Springs	6335
City of Santa Monica	16914
City of Sierra Madre	1517
City of Signal Hill	2826
City of South El Monte	6553
City of South Gate	38264
City of South Pasadena	3965
City of Temple City	6160
City of Torrance	22641
City of Vernon	308
City of Walnut	4844
City of West Covina	29121
City of West Hollywood	7917
City of Westlake Village	273
City of Whittier	23610
Los Angeles	1166399
Los Angeles - Adams-Normandie	2599
Los Angeles - Alsace	3527
Los Angeles - Angeles National Forest	6
Los Angeles - Angelino Heights	624
Los Angeles - Arleta	13589
Los Angeles - Atwater Village	3511
Los Angeles - Baldwin Hills	7421
Los Angeles - Bel Air	1463
Los Angeles - Beverly Crest	2327
Los Angeles - Beverlywood	2999
Los Angeles - Boyle Heights*	33177
Los Angeles - Brentwood	5472
Los Angeles - Brookside	94
Los Angeles - Cadillac-Corning	1821
Los Angeles - Canoga Park	20013
Los Angeles - Carthay	2876
Los Angeles - Central	14825
Los Angeles - Century City	2312
Los Angeles - Century Palms/Cove	13450
Los Angeles - Chatsworth	9245
Los Angeles - Cheviot Hills	1610
Los Angeles - Chinatown	1965
Los Angeles - Cloverdale/Cochran	4022
Los Angeles - Country Club Park	3629
Los Angeles - Crenshaw District	3951
Los Angeles - Crestview	2840
Los Angeles - Del Rey	5923
Los Angeles - Downtown*	11685
Los Angeles - Eagle Rock	9018
Los Angeles - East Hollywood	7278
Los Angeles - Echo Park	3309
Los Angeles - El Sereno	13210
Los Angeles - Elysian Park	1356
Los Angeles - Elysian Valley	2705
Los Angeles - Encino	10222
Los Angeles - Exposition	970
Los Angeles - Exposition Park	14294
Los Angeles - Faircrest Heights	884
Los Angeles - Figueroa Park Square	3015
Los Angeles - Florence-Firestone	19411
Los Angeles - Glassell Park	7960
Los Angeles - Gramercy Place	3174
Los Angeles - Granada Hills	15899
Los Angeles - Green Meadows	8506
Los Angeles - Hancock Park	3325
Los Angeles - Harbor City	6946
Los Angeles - Harbor Gateway	12095
Los Angeles - Harbor Pines	453
Los Angeles - Harvard Heights	5134
Los Angeles - Harvard Park	14917
Los Angeles - Highland Park	12862
Los Angeles - Historic Filipinotown	4248
Los Angeles - Hollywood	15869
Los Angeles - Hollywood Hills	5164
Los Angeles - Hyde Park	9178
Los Angeles - Jefferson Park	2475
Los Angeles - Koreatown	12892
Los Angeles - Lafayette Square	1231
Los Angeles - Lake Balboa	12153
Los Angeles - Lakeview Terrace	4575
Los Angeles - Leimert Park	4217
Los Angeles - Lincoln Heights	10035
Los Angeles - Little Armenia	2414
Los Angeles - Little Bangladesh	6795
Los Angeles - Little Tokyo	1078
Los Angeles - Longwood	1315
Los Angeles - Los Feliz	3738
Los Angeles - Manchester Square	2375
Los Angeles - Mandeville Canyon	503
Los Angeles - Mar Vista	7196
Los Angeles - Marina Peninsula	645
Los Angeles - Melrose	19933
Los Angeles - Mid-city	3387
Los Angeles - Miracle Mile	3372
Los Angeles - Mission Hills	9364
Los Angeles - Mt. Washington	6320
Los Angeles - North Hills	19905
Los Angeles - North Hollywood	45891
Los Angeles - Northridge	18942
Los Angeles - Pacific Palisades	3258
Los Angeles - Pacoima	31964
Los Angeles - Palisades Highlands	603
Los Angeles - Palms	7836
Los Angeles - Panorama City	26953
Los Angeles - Park La Brea	2220
Los Angeles - Pico-Union	13814
Los Angeles - Playa Del Rey	404
Los Angeles - Playa Vista	2212
Los Angeles - Porter Ranch	7126
Los Angeles - Rancho Park	1392
Los Angeles - Regent Square	633
Los Angeles - Reseda	24506
Los Angeles - Reseda Ranch	1401
Los Angeles - Reynier Village	854
Los Angeles - San Pedro*	19442
Los Angeles - Shadow Hills	969
Los Angeles - Sherman Oaks	18559
Los Angeles - Silverlake	9452
Los Angeles - South Carthay	2266
Los Angeles - South Park	14807
Los Angeles - St Elmo Village	1526
Los Angeles - Studio City	4541
Los Angeles - Sun Valley	18697
Los Angeles - Sunland	5059
Los Angeles - Sycamore Square	111
Los Angeles - Sylmar*	33377
Los Angeles - Tarzana	7612
Los Angeles - Temple-Beaudry	10931
Los Angeles - Thai Town	2181
Los Angeles - Toluca Lake	1666
Los Angeles - Toluca Terrace	360
Los Angeles - Toluca Woods	318
Los Angeles - Tujunga	6687
Los Angeles - University Hills	706
Los Angeles - University Park	8977
Los Angeles - Valley Glen	8704
Los Angeles - Valley Village	5898
Los Angeles - Van Nuys*	30342
Los Angeles - Venice	6456
Los Angeles - Vermont Knolls	6151
Los Angeles - Vermont Square	3107
Los Angeles - Vermont Vista	15492
Los Angeles - Vernon Central	21718
Los Angeles - Victoria Park	2288
Los Angeles - View Heights	742
Los Angeles - Watts	16213
Los Angeles - Wellington Square	1403
Los Angeles - West Adams	8673
Los Angeles - West Hills	8662
Los Angeles - West Los Angeles	7422
Los Angeles - West Vernon	20309
Los Angeles - Westchester	8649
Los Angeles - Westlake	17059
Los Angeles - Westwood	9595
Los Angeles - Wholesale District*	16436
Los Angeles - Wilmington	19293
Los Angeles - Wilshire Center	12919
Los Angeles - Winnetka	15226
Los Angeles - Woodland Hills	14400
Unincorporated - Acton	1513
Unincorporated - Agua Dulce	779
Unincorporated - Altadena	8324
Unincorporated - Anaverde	324
Unincorporated - Angeles National Forest	72
Unincorporated - Arcadia	1437
Unincorporated - Athens-Westmont	14198
Unincorporated - Athens Village	2268
Unincorporated - Avocado Heights	2202
Unincorporated - Azusa	4950
Unincorporated - Bassett	4775
Unincorporated - Bouquet Canyon	149
Unincorporated - Bradbury	70
Unincorporated - Canyon Country	2586
Unincorporated - Castaic*	7098
Unincorporated - Cerritos	136
Unincorporated - Charter Oak	2
Unincorporated - Claremont	99
Unincorporated - Covina	4768
Unincorporated - Covina (Charter Oak)	3581
Unincorporated - Del Aire	872
Unincorporated - Del Rey	89
Unincorporated - Del Sur	536
Unincorporated - Desert View Highlands	752
Unincorporated - Duarte	1512
Unincorporated - East Covina	76
Unincorporated - East La Mirada	1203
Unincorporated - East Lancaster	37
Unincorporated - East Los Angeles	47850
Unincorporated - East Pasadena	324
Unincorporated - East Rancho Dominguez	5093
Unincorporated - East Whittier	1064
Unincorporated - El Camino Village	1857
Unincorporated - El Monte	51
Unincorporated - Elizabeth Lake	204
Unincorporated - Florence-Firestone	26188
Unincorporated - Franklin Canyon	1
Unincorporated - Glendora	167
Unincorporated - Hacienda Heights	11667
Unincorporated - Harbor Gateway	4
Unincorporated - Hawthorne	600
Unincorporated - Hi Vista	131
Unincorporated - Kagel/Lopez Canyons	519
Unincorporated - La Crescenta-Montrose	2854
Unincorporated - La Habra Heights	17
Unincorporated - La Rambla	582
Unincorporated - La Verne*	496
Unincorporated - Ladera Heights	1254
Unincorporated - Lake Hughes	147
Unincorporated - Lake Los Angeles	3437
Unincorporated - Lake Manor	339
Unincorporated - Lakewood	1
Unincorporated - Lennox	6403
Unincorporated - Leona Valley	259
Unincorporated - Littlerock	1186
Unincorporated - Littlerock/Juniper Hills	277
Unincorporated - Littlerock/Pearblossom	1039
Unincorporated - Llano	101
Unincorporated - Marina del Rey	1645
Unincorporated - Miracle Mile	0
Unincorporated - Monrovia	861
Unincorporated - Newhall	87
Unincorporated - North Lancaster	339
Unincorporated - North Whittier	2365
Unincorporated - Northeast San Gabriel	4015
Unincorporated - Padua Hills	26
Unincorporated - Palmdale	213
Unincorporated - Palos Verdes Peninsula	66
Unincorporated - Pearblossom/Llano	319
Unincorporated - Pellissier Village	296
Unincorporated - Placerita Canyon	15
Unincorporated - Pomona	139
Unincorporated - Quartz Hill	3094
Unincorporated - Rancho Dominguez	923
Unincorporated - Roosevelt	217
Unincorporated - Rosewood	394
Unincorporated - Rosewood/East Gardena	407
Unincorporated - Rosewood/West Rancho Dominguez	1074
Unincorporated - Rowland Heights	8711
Unincorporated - San Clemente Island	0
Unincorporated - San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon	34
Unincorporated - San Jose Hills	6390
Unincorporated - San Pasqual	64
Unincorporated - Sand Canyon	48
Unincorporated - Santa Catalina Island	613
Unincorporated - Santa Monica Mountains*	2755
Unincorporated - Saugus	310
Unincorporated - Saugus/Canyon Country	89
Unincorporated - South Antelope Valley	88
Unincorporated - South El Monte	624
Unincorporated - South San Gabriel	2015
Unincorporated - South Whittier	17133
Unincorporated - Southeast Antelope Valley	185
Unincorporated - Stevenson Ranch	4013
Unincorporated - Sun Village	1802
Unincorporated - Sunrise Village	422
Unincorporated - Twin Lakes/Oat Mountain	304
Unincorporated - Val Verde	831
Unincorporated - Valencia	671
Unincorporated - Valinda	7442
Unincorporated - View Park/Windsor Hills	2431
Unincorporated - Walnut Park	6069
Unincorporated - West Antelope Valley	134
Unincorporated - West Carson	5489
Unincorporated - West Chatsworth	4
Unincorporated - West LA	550
Unincorporated - West Puente Valley	3215
Unincorporated - West Rancho Dominguez	385
Unincorporated - West Whittier/Los Nietos	8204
Unincorporated - Westfield/Academy Hills	163
Unincorporated - Westhills	127
Unincorporated - White Fence Farms	723
Unincorporated - Whittier	731
Unincorporated - Whittier Narrows	64
Unincorporated - Willowbrook	13710
Unincorporated - Wiseburn	1408
- Under Investigation	68001

The Department of Public Health is committed to promoting health equity and ensuring optimal health and well -being for all 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Through a variety of programs, community partnerships and services, Public Health oversees environmental health, disease control, and community and family health. Nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health comprises of more than 5,000 employees and has an annual budget of $1.3 billion.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health works to protect health,
prevent disease, and promote health and well-being.

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