LACMA Blog | Public Health Increasing Access to Second Booster Do

Public Health Increasing Access to Second Booster Dose at Skilled Nursing Facilities

April 12, 2022
BA.2 subvariant,, California, California Department of Public Health, COVID-19, Homeless Services, L.A. County, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Public Health, Respirators, Skilled Nursing Facilities, vaccines
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With increased circulation of the more infectious BA.2 subvariant, the County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is ramping up efforts to ensure access to the second booster dose for residents and staff at Skilled Nursing Facilities.

In order to be sure that eligible nursing home residents and staff are quickly offered the second booster doses, Public Health is conducting educational outreach to all Skilled Nursing Facilities in LA County to determine that they are able to offer second doses whether through their relationship with a Long-Term Care Pharmacy or through the Public Health mobile teams. Public Health has already scheduled 23 mobile vaccination clinics at Skilled Nursing Facilities to administer second booster doses over the next two weeks.

As of April 3, 91% of nursing home residents were fully vaccinated and 85% fully vaccinated and boosted with the first booster dose. Among eligible staff, vaccination rates are also very high with 98% fully vaccinated and 85% fully vaccinated and boosted.

With high rates of up-to-date vaccinations, positive cases among Skilled Nursing Facility residents and staff remain relatively low. For the week ending April 9, Skilled Nursing Facilities reported 12 new cases among residents and 19 new cases among staff. This represents a 78% and 21% reduction in new cases, respectively, when compared to one month ago when there were 55 new cases among residents and 24 new cases among staff for the week ending March 12.

With Skilled Nursing Facilities continuing to follow safety precautions, outbreaks have also remained low. There were just four new outbreaks reported the week ending April 9.

Visitors at skilled nursing facilities should still follow all sensible protection measures when visiting their loved ones. Visitors who are feeling sick should stay home, away from others, and not enter a facility.

Visitors wishing to go indoors should also be ready to show proof of being up to date with COVID vaccines and a negative PCR test result taken within two days prior to entry, or a negative antigen test result taken within one day prior to entry.

Additionally, all visitors, regardless of vaccination status, should wear well-fitting face masks when not actively eating or drinking. Respirators (N95, KN95, KF94) or a surgical mask provide better protection than cloth masks, as they do a better job at blocking virus particles. Visitors should wash their hands or use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving the facility, and, as appropriate, during their visit.

“I send my deepest sympathies and wishes of peace and comfort to the many families who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “With the increased circulation of the highly infectious BA.2 subvariant, protecting the health of loved ones in Skilled Nursing Facilities will require that residents, staff, and visitors continue to take sensible safety measures. Residents and staff should be fully boosted, and anyone eligible should get the second booster as soon as possible. We also encourage families and friends visiting nursing homes or other congregate care facilities to do the same and be up to date on their vaccinations, in addition to getting tested before visiting and following all onsite safety measures. Our most vulnerable residents, including those that are older, immunocompromised, living with serious health conditions, or unvaccinated, still need the additional protections offered by the tools and strategies we know will reduce risk.”

Today, Public Health reported 13 additional deaths and 795 new positive cases of COVID-19. Of the 13 new deaths reported today, two people were between the ages of 30-49, four people were between the ages of 50-64, three people were between the ages of 65-79, and four people were aged 80 years or older. Of the 13 newly reported deaths, eight people had underlying health conditions. To date, the total number of deaths in L.A. County is 31,819.

Public Health has reported a total of 2,847,097 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County. Today’s positivity rate is 1.0%.

There are 270 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized. Testing results are available for more than 11,761,500 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: