Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported two additional COVID-19 deaths Wednesday, as the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s death toll for the Santa Clarita Valley increased by 19 in the last 24 hours, totaling at least 225 since the onset of the pandemic.
Public Health officials have said in the past that COVID-19 deaths are a lagging indicator, meaning that the deaths reported by Henry Mayo from previous weeks until recently have yet to be added to the county’s figures.
The hospital’s officials also held a livestreamed COVID-19 update Wednesday, with Larry Kidd, Henry Mayo’s senior vice president and chief clinical officer, and Carissa Bortugno, senior director of clinical support services at Henry Mayo, providing updates on the hospital’s vaccination efforts.
Henry Mayo’s vaccination clinic vaccinates approximately 500 people per day, and is staffed with nurses, nursing students, pharmacists and pharmacy students, according to Bortugno.
“We have had really positive feedback from the community members that have come through the clinic, and we’re really happy to be able to help our community,” she said.
Henry Mayo is scheduled to post appointments for the following week every Thursday, with the number of available appointments dependent on vaccine doses allocated by the state.
Bortugno also addressed the frustrations in residents securing available appointments, advising residents to keep checking the site frequently, as the situation is constantly changing as vaccines become available.
“Don’t give up. Just because you tried today doesn’t mean tomorrow, the next day, there might be something that’s opened up,” Kidd added.
Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced Wednesday a partnership with the federal government for a pilot project to establish two state-federal, mass vaccination sites, including one in Los Angeles County, as part of a wider effort to establish 100 vaccination sites nationwide in the first 100 days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
A site is set to be established at California State University, Los Angeles, with another in Oakland, co-run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to distribute a minimum of 6,000 doses per day, Newsom said.
“None of the vaccines come from otherwise allocated vaccines that we will be receiving here in the state of California — this is additive,” he added.
L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer acknowledged the announcement during the county’s daily COVID-19 briefing, thanking the county’s community partners who help to manage the county’s vaccination sites.
“A heartfelt thanks to all of you for all you’re doing as we cope with scarce supply but an extensive network that’s going to try to do their very best to very quickly get the vaccine we’re allocated into the arms of people who are eligible,” she said.
More than 1 million COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered across L.A. County, with Ferrer announcing Wednesday the county has used a larger percentage of the supplies at hand than other counties across the country, including New York City and Chicago, among others.
Public Health officials also released the following updated COVID-19 statistics Wednesday:
New COVID-19 cases reported in L.A. County in the past 24 hours: 5,189
Total COVID-19 cases in L.A. County: 1,129,503
New deaths related to COVID-19 reported: 256
Total COVID-19 deaths in L.A. County: 17,308
Hospitalizations countywide: 5,165; 27% of whom are in the ICU.
Hospitalizations at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital as of Feb. 3: 63, with 1,034 discharged since the onset of the pandemic.
COVID-19 cases reported in the Santa Clarita Valley in the past 24 hours: 128, 95 of which came from the city of Santa Clarita.
Total COVID-19 cases in the SCV: 24,210
Total COVID-19 deaths in the SCV: 225, with three additional deaths reported by Henry Mayo on Monday and two more Wednesday.
The numbers of SCV cases, including all area health care providers’ daily figures and those at Pitchess Detention Center, broken down into region, are as follows:
City of Santa Clarita: 17,713
Unincorporated – Acton: 400
Unincorporated – Agua Dulce: 231
Unincorporated – Bouquet Canyon: 41
Unincorporated – Canyon Country: 715
Unincorporated – Castaic: 3,436 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center, exact number unavailable)
Unincorporated – Lake Hughes: 37
Unincorporated – Newhall: 64
Unincorporated – Placerita Canyon: 0
Unincorporated – San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 14
Unincorporated – Sand Canyon: 13
Unincorporated – Saugus: 122
Unincorporated – Saugus/Canyon Country: 29
Unincorporated – Stevenson Ranch: 963
Unincorporated – Val Verde: 276
Unincorporated – Valencia: 166
To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.
