Former Board Member John Duran Made Daily COVID Updates on his Facebook page since March 2020. Many community members have found them useful. They are republished here with his permission.

139 new cases of COVID were announced yesterday in LA County, along with 4 additional deaths. Positivity rate low and unchanged at half a percent. Hospitalizations are falling again.

50% ANGELENOS FULLY VACCINATED

Congratulations to the people of LA County. 10 million of us. And half of us are fully vaccinated. It’s quite an achievement in such a short time. Grateful to have a competent president in the White House to focus and mobilize federal resources to get our nation back on its feet.

But to think about the diversity of our 88 cities in LA County and bring us to half – is really a milestone! This credit is to be given to the people who call this City of Angels – their home. Whether we live in Weho or Samo or Elysian Park or Whittier or Long Beach or Hermosa Beach or Malibu or Van Nuys or San Fernando or Pasadena or Pomona – we’ve all done it together.

We have made incredible strides in vaccinating the elderly here in LA County. 72% of residents aged 65 or older are fully vaccinated in LA County! And 85% of seniors have received at least one dose!

FULLY REOPENING SCHOOLS IN FALL

The second-largest school district in the country (after NY) is slated to reopen fully in the fall. An online option will also be available. There are over a year of school closures. Such a relief for the parents.

I live across the street from West Hollywood Elementary School. It has been so quiet for a year that you think I would have appreciated the silence. But no. I missed the sounds of children playing in the schoolyard. Songs of life ……

RACIAL VACCINE GAP IS REDUCING

All over California – Black and Latino residents are closing the vaccination gap. They are now receiving vaccines at a faster rate than other racial or ethnic groups (according to the LA Times this morning).

Over the past month, the percentage of Latinos getting vaccinated has risen from 28% to 35% – which is a relative percentage of 26% – the fastest of all racial and ethnic groups. ORAL !!!!

The percentage of black residents who received at least one dose rose from 30% to 36% in the past month. This is a relative percentage jump of 20%.

The percentage of Native American residents who were at least partially vaccinated rose from 41% to 49% – a relative percentage of 18%.

For people in Asia and the Pacific Islands, the percentage rose from 53% to 63%, a relative increase of 18%.

And finally, the percentage of white Californians who were at least partially vaccinated rose from 46% to 52% – a relative percentage increase of 13%.

California remains the most populous state in the nation. And with numbers like this – we are doing MORE than our fair share to fight contagion. The Deep South continues to fall behind in terms of extremely high vaccination rates and infection rates. Eventually, the scales will fall out of the eyes of some of their leaders when they realize that their political attitude is killing people and hurting their savings. So sad.

It will be sunny and 86 degrees in Los Angeles today. A perfect day for which we are blessed by the angels. It’s time to yawn, stretch and come back to life …… ..

Good Tuesday!