Pasadena Hosts 250th COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic

The rate of eligible Pasadenans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 grew to 91% Tuesday as the city hosted its 250th vaccination clinic, authorities said.

The rate of local residents ages 12 and up who have received at least one vaccine dose increased to 97.3%, according to Pasadena Public Health Department data.

Eligible Pasadenans below 18 and above 45 with at least one dose saw rates above 99%, city data shows. But among those between 18 and 44 years old the rate of single dosage stood at 88.4%.

Several city officials and employees were among those receiving booster doses during Tuesday’s vaccination clinic at the Pasadena Public Health Department.

Meanwhile, the Pasadena Unified School District reported 15 detected infections among students over the prior week, but none involving staff members. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials reported 896 new infections and 17 fatalities on Tuesday, bringing the county’s totals to 1,495,014 COVID-19 cases and 26,661 deaths.

Officials listed 659 patients hospitalized with the virus across the county, with 26% of them being treated in intensive care units. The number of hospitalizations represented an increase of 30 over the prior week.

Tuesday’s countywide daily test positivity rate was measured at 1%, according to a LACDPH statement.

County public health officials were preparing for the expected authorization of vaccines for children between 5 and 11 years old within the coming days.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) panel approved the vaccines Tuesday, and only the approval of the agency director remained pending.

“Currently, the County expects to get nearly 300,000 doses as part of its first three waves of vaccine supply by the end of this week. The first pediatric doses are arriving today with additional doses scheduled to arrive later this week. If the CDC approves pediatric vaccines today, sites that already received doses may be able to start vaccinating as early as tomorrow afternoon or on Thursday,” according to the county statement.

“Doses are being allocated to the County and to the rest of the country on a pro-rata basis,” the statement added. “Public Health does not anticipate scarcity, and expects there will be ample vaccine to meet demand.”

L.A. County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer welcomed the anticipated approval.

“We are hopeful that with continued increases in vaccination and boosters and adherence to the existing common sense safety precautions, we can reach a lower level of community transmission that positions us to lift the masking requirements,” she said.

“While transmission is substantial, we need to continue layering on protections, understanding that significant spread of the virus affects unvaccinated individuals and increasingly results in post-vaccination infections among those vaccinated,” Ferrer said. “Substantial spread also creates a fertile breeding ground for new variants that can threaten our progress to date. Let’s continue to do what it takes to enable everyone to celebrate the upcoming holidays with family and friends, rather than being quarantined, sick, or hospitalized.”

At the state level, public health officials announced 4,209 new infections and 38 deaths on Tuesday, raising the state’s pandemic totals to 4,671,147 cases of COVID-19 and 71,570 fatalities.

The statewide weekly positivity rate was measured at 2.2%, according to California Department of Public Health Data.

As of Tuesday, L.A. County accounted for 32% of California’s COVID-19 infections and 37% of the state’s deaths.