The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday 91 new cases and one additional death from COVID-19 in the Santa Clarita Valley within the last week.

Public Health is now reporting COVID-19 data once a week. This is the most recent data from Oct. 19.

This new data brings Los Angeles County death totals to 36,836, case totals to 3,811,975 and Santa Clarita Valley case totals to 102,032 since March of 2020. SCV deaths from COVID-19 rise to 575.

New Survey Finds 64% of Los Angeles County Residents Plan to Get Updated COVID-19 Vaccine

A majority of Los Angeles County residents say they plan to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine, according to new survey results. The new updated COVID-19 vaccine is a safe and effective tool for reducing the risks for severe illness, hospitalization, and cancellation of plans during the holiday season.

In a study led by the University of Southern California (USC) Pandemic Research Center, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health), participants were asked whether they are planning to get the 2023-2024 updated COVID-19 vaccine. The survey was sent to members of the Pandemic Surveillance Cohort, a representative sample of Los Angeles County residents. Of the 1,046 responding, 64 percent said, “yes” indicating they plan to get the updated vaccine, and an additional 17 percent of the people who are still considering the vaccine responded, “not sure.”

Since the new updated COVID-19 vaccine was made available mid-September, more than 330,000 updated COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Los Angeles County. Among those 65 and older, an estimated 10 percent of people have already received the updated vaccine. And while this is positive news, knowing that individuals in this age group have a higher risk of severe illness and death from a COVID-19 infection, there are many more seniors who would benefit from the updated protection.

At least one dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. The new vaccine is formulated to protect against Omicron XBB strains, which are the dominant strains circulating now. It also boosts immunity against the virus, which wanes over time.

To make an appointment to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine, and for drop-in locations throughout the county, visit myturn.ca.gov. Residents can search by ZIP code; results will include Public Health Clinics and pop-up vaccine events, as well as local pharmacies. The website also will note if sites offer free vaccines for people who are uninsured or underinsured. Most locations also offer the annual flu vaccine, which can be given at the same time.

This same USC survey also asked respondents about their intention to get the updated annual influenza vaccine: 69 percent of people in Los Angeles County plan to get the flu shot and about 9 percent of people are still deciding. Nationally, hospitalization rates for influenza during the 2022-2023 flu season were highest for people 65 and older, at 187 per 100,000 people, followed by children 0-4 years, at a rate of 81 per 100,000 people.

Over the past four weeks of data, Public Health is reporting a decline across indicators of COVID-19 transmission, including reported cases, wastewater concentrations of SARS-COV-2 virus, COVID-19 positive hospitalizations, and COVID-19 deaths. Historically, respiratory virus transmission is lower in October, before transmission begins to rise leading to a peak during winter months.

Now is a good time to prepare for the coming months and update your protections against COVID-19 and flu. Both the updated COVID-19 and flu vaccines are essential tools to help limit severe illness from respiratory viruses, especially for people at highest risk, including those with underlying health conditions and people over 65 years old. People over 65 should also speak to their provider about the newly approved respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine.

The Public Health Call Center remains open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to answer COVID-19-related questions, including how to get vaccinated, at 1-833-540-0473. In addition to helping to schedule a vaccine appointment, Public Health staff also can connect callers with resources, such as how to get vaccinated at home.

In Los Angeles County, based on data through Sept. 30, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Hospital Admission Level is Low at 4.6 new COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 people, lower than 5.2 reported the week before.

Public Health reports COVID-19 data weekly. The following table shows case, wastewater, emergency department, hospitalization and death data in Los Angeles County over the past four weeks.

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:

COVID-19 Locations & Demographics (data by demographic characteristics and geography, active outbreaks, and citations)

 – COVID-19 Response Plan

 – COVID-19 Vaccinations

 – Skilled Nursing Facility Metrics

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

 – Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/

– California Department of Public Health: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx

– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

– CDC Spanishhttps://espanol.cdc.gov/enes/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

– World Health Organization https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

– LA County residents can also call 2-1-1

William S. Hart Union High School District COVID-19 Dashboard

Since the State of Emergency has been lifted, the William S. Hart Union High School District will no longer be posting dashboard information.

Santa Clarita Valley Update

As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the L.A. County Public Health dashboard reported one additional death from COVID-19 in the city of Santa Clarita, bringing the total number of deaths in the SCV to 575.

NOTE: As of Dec. 20, 2022, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health switched to a new geocoding process to improve the accuracy and completeness of geocoded data. Geocoding is the process of assigning an address to specific geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude). As a result, approximately 1,500 cases (0.04%) were removed from the cumulative count as they were determined to be out of jurisdiction with the improved geocoding. The switch to this improved process also resulted in minor changes to cumulative case/death counts by Supervisor District, Service Planning Area, city/community, and area poverty categories.

The following is the community breakdown per L.A. County’s dashboard:

Santa Clarita: 469

Castaic: 31 (revised from 33)

Acton: 19

Stevenson Ranch: 19

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 11

Agua Dulce: 8

Val Verde: 6

Elizabeth Lake: 4

Lake Hughes: 2

Valencia: 2

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 2

Newhall: 1

Unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

SCV Cases

Of the 102,032 cases reported to Public Health for the SCV to date, the community breakdown is as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 75,292

Castaic: 9,957

Stevenson Ranch: 6,165

Canyon Country (unincorporated portion): 3,865

Acton: 2,070

Val Verde: 1,243

Agua Dulce: 1,019

Valencia (unincorporated portion west of I-5): 963

Saugus (unincorporated portion): 354

Elizabeth Lake: 293

Bouquet Canyon: 212

Lake Hughes: 208

Saugus/Canyon Country: 151

Newhall (Unincorporated portion): 108

Sand Canyon: 63

San Francisquito/Bouquet Canyon: 45

Placerita Canyon: 24

*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.

California By the Numbers

The most updated data as of Oct. 13:

New hospital admissions updated Oct. 13, at 9:37 a.m., with data from Oct. 7..

Deaths and tests updated Oct. 13, at 9:37 a.m., with data from Oct. 10.

For more California data, click [here].