Los Angeles County appears to have avoided a coronavirus surge associated with Labor Day, with officials hailing an ongoing reduction in weekly coronavirus cases, which have fallen to their lowest level since mid-July.
“Higher vaccination rates and safety precautions at Labor Day celebrations helped avert the usual increase in cases we experience after major holidays,” L.A. County public health director Barbara Ferrer said.
But officials said now is not the time to let up on efforts to further increase vaccination rates. Neglecting inoculation campaigns risks a new cycle of surging cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the autumn and winter, officials said.
Only 60.1% of L.A. County residents of all ages are fully vaccinated, a rate far below what is thought to be needed for a community to achieve “herd immunity,” in which enough of the population has immunity to COVID-19 to stanch substantial ongoing transmission of the virus.
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