LOS ANGELES—Health officials in Los Angeles County said over 25% of new coronavirus cases are among those who have been fully vaccinated, an increase from last month, according to a report Wednesday.
Health officials have called the vaccines effective and said breakthrough cases are to be expected, but the number is a noticeable increase from June when fully vaccinated individuals accounted for 20% of the county’s infections, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported.
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“As more people are vaccinated, the number of fully vaccinated people becoming infected will increase and with the Delta variant that’s far more infectious, exposures to infections have also increased,” Barbara Ferrer, the public health director from the county, said, according to the station.
The station pointed out that from July 1 through July 16, the county diagnosed 13,598 cases, which included the 3,592 fully vaccinated people.
Dr. Tomás Aragón, director of the California Department of Public Health and state public health officer, said in a statement obtained by the Los Angeles Times that masks should be worn while inside public places regardless of the individual’s vaccine status. The state’s health officials told the paper that the individuals who are not vaccinated are the ones “driving up cases and hospitalizations in the state.”
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NBC Los Angeles, citing state numbers from Tuesday, reported that there were 891 people hospitalized with the virus in the county with over 10 million residents. The number is up from 825 the previous day. The figure is the highest number since March 13.
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Fifteen people died in the county on Wednesday.