The Signal’s Emily Alvarenga contributed to this story. 

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, affirmed the recommendation by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, FDA, to expand the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents 12 to 15 years of age.

Starting tomorrow, Los Angeles County vaccination providers may begin offering the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds at vaccination sites that offer the Pfizer vaccine. All eight county run sites will be open tomorrow and able to vaccinate children 12-17; teens should be accompanied by a parent, guardian or responsible adult, and present a photo ID and verification of age. For a full list of sites across the county offering Pfizer vaccines, please visit the website. To schedule an appointment, visit the LA Vaccination website beginning this evening; walk-ins are welcome at all 8 county-run sites. Parents or teens with questions about the vaccine should contact their healthcare provider or visit the Public Health website for more information on vaccine safety and efficacy.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state would stop requiring people to wear masks in almost all circumstances on June 15, the date set for the state’s full reopening.

In an on-camera interview with media later posted on Twitter, Newsom said masks would only be required in large indoor settings, but the mandate would no longer be in effect.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 21 new deaths and 332 new cases of COVID-19, with 27,814 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.

To date, Public Health identified 1,236,243 positive cases of COVID-19 across all areas of L.A. County and a total of 24041 deaths.

Of the 18 new deaths reported Tuesday, Of the 21 new deaths reported today, six people that passed away were over the age of 80, six people who died were between the ages of 65 and 79, five people who died were between the ages of 50 and 64, one person who died was between the ages of 30 and 49, and two people who died were between the ages of 18 and 29.

There are 379 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized and 17% of these people are in the ICU. Testing results are available for more than 6,620,000 individuals with 17% of people testing positive.

California Wednesday Snapshot
The California Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday 3,658,198 confirmed cases and 61,305 deaths to date. There are 1,534 confirmed hospitalizations and 386 ICU hospitalizations in the state.

Blueprint Tier Assignments

Three counties are moving to a less restrictive tier, although local public health departments may implement policies that are more restrictive than the state. From Red (substantial) to Orange (moderate): Madera. From Orange (moderate) to Yellow (minimal): San Mateo and Mono. No counties moved to a more restrictive tier. No counties remain in the Purple (widespread) tier, 11 remain in the Red (substantial) tier, 38 in the Orange (moderate) tier and nine are in the Yellow (minimal) tier. Blueprint tiers are updated weekly on Tuesdays. Find the status of activities in specific counties.

Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.

There were 1,231 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

The 7-day positivity rate is 1.1%.

There have been 62,326,240 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 124,260 during the prior 24-hour reporting period.

As of May 12, providers have reported administering a total of 33,118,249 vaccine doses statewide. The CDC reports that 42,089,320 doses have been delivered to entities within the state. Numbers do not represent true day-to-day change as reporting may be delayed. For more vaccination data, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Data Dashboard.

Health Care Worker Infection Rates
As of May 11, local health departments have reported 109,499 confirmed positive cases in health care workers and 499 deaths statewide.

Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday Update
As of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard remains unchanged from Tuesday, recording a total of 304 deaths among Santa Clarita Valley residents.

The following is the community breakdown of the 304 SCV residents who have died, according to the L.A. County dashboard:

260 in Santa Clarita

*revised from 261 Friday 4/30/2021*

18 in Castaic

6 in Acton

6 in Stevenson Ranch

4 in unincorporated Canyon Country

3 in Agua Dulce

1 in unincorporated Bouquet Canyon

1 in Elizabeth Lake

1 in Lake Hughes

1 in Newhall

1 in unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country

1 in Valencia

1 in Val Verde

Of the 27,814 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 20,370

Castaic: 3,730

(includes Pitchess Detention Center and North County Correctional Facility*)

Stevenson Ranch: 1,148

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 846

Acton: 473

Val Verde: 337

Agua Dulce: 280

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 194

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 130

Elizabeth Lake: 76

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 68

Bouquet Canyon: 47

Lake Hughes: 42

Saugus/Canyon Country: 40

Sand Canyon: 17

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 15

Placerita Canyon: 1

*Note: The county is unable to break out separate numbers for Castaic and PDC/NCCF because the county uses geotagging software that cannot be changed at this time, according to officials. Click here for the LASD COVID-19 dashboard.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Wednesday Update
As of Wednesday, the hospital had zero cases pending, three patients were hospitalized in a dedicated COVID-19 unit, and a total of 1,230 patients had been treated and discharged since the pandemic began, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said.

There were no additional deaths, keeping the total deaths at 147 people to date. The most recent death was March 21.

Privacy laws prohibit the hospital from releasing the community of residence for patients who die there; that info is reported by the L.A. County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard, which generally lags 48 hours behind.

L.A. County

On Tuesday, the State released updated blueprint tier numbers; L.A. County’s adjusted case rate dropped from 1.6 new cases per 100,000 people to 1.4 new cases per 100,000. The overall test positivity rate remained at 0.7% and in areas with the fewest health affirming resources, L.A. County’s test positivity rate dropped from 0.8% to 0.7%. Los Angeles County has closed the test positivity gap.

“While we are relieved that out metrics remain stable, we continue to mourn the loss of life and send our deepest sympathies to everyone who is missing a loved one who passed away from COVID-19,” said Barbara Ferrer, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director of Public Health. “The most powerful tool to maintain our recovery progress is the vaccine and the most important work in front of us is to make it easier for residents to get vaccinated. With vaccination eligibility set to expand later this week to include adolescents between 12-15 years of age, there will be more opportunities to get vaccine into more arms to save lives and to build the County’s protection against COVID-19. Getting vaccinated is the way we end this pandemic.”

Healthcare workers began to receive COVID-19 vaccinations in December 2020 and since then, COVID-19 cases among healthcare workers sharply dropped. During the last week of December, there were nearly 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 among healthcare workers. Last week, there were only 43 new cases among healthcare workers reported across the entire county. This is the eighth week in a row that the number of new cases among healthcare workers is 50 or fewer a week.

To date, 262 healthcare workers have tragically passed away from COVID-19. At the peak of the surge, the week of January 3, 2021, 24 healthcare workers passed away. In the last three consecutive weeks, no COVID-19 deaths have been reported among healthcare workers.

Throughout the pandemic nursing facility staff have accounted for one-fourth of healthcare worker cases. Cases among nursing facility staff also dropped. The week of January 3, 2021 a total of 1,109 nursing facility staff tested positive for COVID-19. For the week of April 24, a total of 11 nursing facility staff tested positive for COVID-19.

Currently, 84% of skilled nursing facility staff received at least their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Among the staff who received their first dose, 96% received their second dose and are fully vaccinated. High rates of vaccination are correlated with the low cases rate of among healthcare workers at nursing homes and at all healthcare facilities.

COVID-19 vaccinations are available at County-run sites and many community sites without an appointment. Anyone 16 and older living or working in L.A. County can get vaccinated. You should bring a photo ID with you and teens 16 and 17 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

On Monday, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents 12 to 15 years of age. Los Angeles County will offer the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) affirms the FDA recommendation. For a full list of sites across the county offering Pfizer vaccines, please visit http://bit.ly/PfizerSites to find a site near you where teens can be vaccinated.

To find a vaccination site near you, to make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, Visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish) If you don’t have internet access, can’t use a computer, or you’re over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment or scheduling a home-visit if you are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers regardless of immigration status.

County Reopening Protocols, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance Interactive Dashboard, Roadmap to Recovery, Recovery Dashboard, and additional actions you can take to protect yourself, your family and your community are on the Public Health website, www.publichealth.lacounty.gov.

California Wednesday

Additional data and udpates:

Tracking COVID-19 in California

State Dashboard – Daily COVID-19 data

County Map – Local data, including tier status and ICU capacity

Data and Tools – Models and dashboards for researchers, scientists, and the public

Blueprint for a Safer Economy– Data for establishing tier status

COVID-19 Race & Ethnicity Data – Weekly updated Race & Ethnicity data

Cases and Deaths by Age Group – Weekly updated Deaths by Age Group data

Health Equity Dashboard – See how COVID-19 highlights existing inequities in health

Tracking Variants – Data on the variants California is currently monitoring

Safe Schools for All Hub – Information about safe in-person instruction

School Districts Reopening Map – data on public schools and reported outbreaks

Vaccine Eligibility Update

Beginning Thursday May 13 individuals aged 12+ are eligible for vaccination. Visit myturn.ca.gov to make an appointment. Individuals aged between 12- 17  may need the consent of a parent or legal guardian for vaccination. Visit Vaccinate All 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available.

Blueprint for a Safer Economy
All counties are under the rules and framework of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and color-coded tiers that indicate which activities and businesses are open based on local case rates and test positivity. As always, local public health departments may implement policies that are more restrictive than the state.

New Testing Turnaround Time Dashboard
The testing turnaround dashboard reports how long California patients are waiting for COVID-19 test results. During the week of April 25 to May 1, the average time patients waited for test results was just under one day. During this same time period, 82% of patients received test results in one day and 96% received them within two days.

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
As of May 10, there have been 508 Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) have been reported statewide. MIS-C is a rare inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that can damage multiple organ systems. MIS-C can require hospitalization and be life threatening.

MIS-C is a rare inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19 that can damage multiple organ systems. MIS-C can require hospitalization and be life threatening. Parents should be aware of the signs and symptoms of MIS-C including fever that does not go away, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes or feeling tired. Contact your child’s doctor immediately if your child has these symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment of patients is critical to preventing long-term complications.

View additional datasets at the California Open Data Portal (Including: Testing Data, PPE Logistics Data, Hospital Data, Homeless Impact and more)

Your Actions Save Lives
Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:

– Get vaccinated when it’s your turn. Californians age 16+ are eligible to make an appointment.

– If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches), call your health care provider.

– If you believe you have been exposed, get tested. Free, confidential testing is available statewide.

– Keep gatherings small and outdoors and follow state and local public health guidance.

– Wear a mask and get the most out of masking – an effective mask has both good fit and good filtration.

– Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

– Delay non-essential travel outside of California until you are fully vaccinated. Follow California’s travel advisory.

– Avoid close contact with people who are sick and stay home from work and school if you feel ill.

– Add your phone to the fight by signing up for COVID-19 exposure notifications from CA Notify.

– Answer the call or text if a contact tracer from the CA COVID Team or your local health department tries to connect.

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

– Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

– California Department of Public Health

– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

– Spanish

– World Health Organization

L.A. County residents can also call 2-1-1.

What to Do if You Think You’re Sick
Call ahead: If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, cough or shortness of breath), call your health care provider before seeking medical care so that appropriate precautions can be taken. More than 85 community testing sites also offer free, confidential testing: Find a COVID-19 Testing Site.

For more information about what Californians can do to prevent the spread of COVID-19, visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) in California.

California continues to issue guidance on preparing and protecting California from COVID-19. Consolidated guidance is available on the California Department of Public Health’s Guidance webpage.