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New Novavax COVID vaccine now available in LA County
By City News Service
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Long Beach health officials began offering doses of the newly approved Novavax vaccine for COVID-19 Tuesday, followed by the rest of Los Angeles County who started administering the medication on Wednesday.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the vaccine July 13 after it was found to be 90% effective against mild, moderate and severe disease in the company's Phase 3 clinical trial involving 30,000 participants
ages 18 and older.
Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the protein-based Novavax vaccine was developed without the use of mRNA technology. "We are thrilled to begin offering the Novavax vaccine to our community," Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. "With more options available, we are increasing access to these life-saving vaccines. We urge everyone to become vaccinated and protected if they haven't already. Vaccines are safe and effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death."
Residents 18 years and older can get the Novavax vaccine, which is a two-dose primary series, with the second dose administered three weeks after the first. Boosters are not recommended and the Novavax vaccine is not authorized for children 17 and younger.
Long Beach officials said the Novavax vaccine will not be listed on the state's MyTurn
vaccine-scheduling website until later in the month, but residents who would like to receive it can visit a city-run vaccine clinic. A list of sites is available online at longbeach.gov/vaxlb or by calling 562-570- 4636.
Residents of Los Angeles County are now able to receive the vaccine at any Los Angeles County Department of Public Health vaccination location. Residents can also contact their provider to see if their provider is offering Novavax.
The availability of the new vaccine comes as the region slowly emerges from a surge of infections that almost prompted a new indoor mask-wearing mandate in the county. With case and hospitalization rates steadily dropping, the county announced last week it would defer imposing the mandate.
The county could officially move from the "high" to "medium" transmission level this week.
The county's seven-day case rate -- while still elevated at 426 cases per 100,000 people -- declined from 481 per 100,000 the previous week, according to the latest data.
In addition, using the most recent hospitalization data, Los Angeles County is experiencing a rate of 9.7 new hospitalizations -- suggesting that by Thursday, assuming rates stay stable or decline, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could designate the county at the "medium" community level.
While masks are not being required indoors, they are strongly recommended, county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. "As we are hopefully moving to the medium community level, we will need to continue to use commonsense safety measures to reduce community transmission to a level that causes less disruption, less illness, and less death," she said. "We have great tools and we will need to use them. Please be up-to- date on your vaccinations to reduce your chances of severe illness should you get infected; wear your mask indoors to reduce the spread of an infectious agent at its source, while also protecting the wearer from aerosolized virus and respiratory droplets.”
| Photo courtesy of Mat Napo/Unsplash
Vin Scully
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he grew up. "Where the boys in grammar school wanted to be policemen and firemen and the girls wanted to be ballet dancers and nurses, here's this kid saying, `I want to be a sports announcer,"' Scully once said. "I mean it was really out of the blue."
Fans paid their respect to Scully with a memorial outside Dodger Stadium in Elysian Park in front of the sign that bears his name. They left flowers, candles and shared memories of the moments in Dodger history Scully delivered on the radio and TV.
Tributes for Scully poured in both locally and from across the country. "I had the great fortune of working with Vin for many years at the Dodgers and rarely do your childhood heroes exceed your expectations when you get to know them, but somehow he did," Josh Rawitch, the Baseball Hall of Fame president who spent 15 years in the Dodger organization, said in a statement. "He was the most vivid storyteller and an unparalleled broadcaster but what made him so beloved by everyone who knew him was that he was equally as amazing as a person. He has left an indelible impact on each of us and will forever be our game's soundtrack to summer."
Laker legend and Dodger co-owner Magic Johnson called Scully "the nicest and sweetest man outside of the booth," adding that he was "beloved by all of our Dodgers family." "He was just as popular as any Dodger player," Johnson wrote on his Facebook page. "His legacy will live on throughout Major League Baseball and he will be remembered as the greatest announcer ever in MLB history."
As a youth, Scully helped his family financially by delivering beer and mail, pushing garment racks, and cleaning silver in the basement of the Pennsylvania Hotel.
Scully attended Fordham University in the Bronx, where he announced football, basketball and baseball games on the university's radio station, WFUV, wrote a sports column for The Ram student newspaper, was a stringer for The New York Times, and was a member of the Shaving Mugs, a campus barbershop quartet.
Scully was also an outfielder on the school's baseball team, including in a 1947 game against Yale, whose first baseman was future President George Bush. Both were hitless in three at-bats in Yale's 3-1 victory.
Scully graduated from Fordham in 1949, then sent about 150 letters to radio stations along the Eastern seaboard. He only received one response, from WTOP, the CBS station in Washington, D.C., which made him a fill-in.
That fall, he returned to New York and was asked by Red Barber, the broadcaster and sports director of the CBS Radio Network
to fill in for an ill broadcaster to call the Boston University-University of Maryland college football game.
Scully was relegated to an outdoor press box at Fenway Park in the freezing cold, but performed his duties without complaint, which impressed Barber, who was also the Dodgers' lead announcer. Months later, when the Dodgers were looking for a third broadcaster to join Barber and Connie Desmond, Scully was hired at the age of 22. Scully's first regularseason game with the Dodgers was on April 18, 1950, when they faced the
Phillies at Philadelphia's Shibe Park. "Don Newcombe was going to be our pitcher," Scully said at a 2016 news conference the day before he broadcast his final game at Dodger Stadium. "Red Barber assigned me to do the fourth inning. They didn't trust me more than one inning. I understand that. "My first game, Newcombe didn't make it to the fourth inning. That's all I really remember, plus the fact I was terrified."
In 1953, when he was 25 years old, Scully became the youngest person to broadcast a World Series. He became the Dodgers' No. 1 broadcaster in 1954 after Barber left to become a New York Yankees' broadcaster.
Either on the team or NBC broadcasts, Scully called such memorable moments by the Dodgers (or their opponents) as Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965, New York Yankee pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game against the Dodgers in the 1956 World Series and Hank Aaron's record- setting 715th home run.
Scully's many honors include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually by the Baseball Hall of Fame to a broadcaster for "major contributions to baseball" and being named the greatest sportscaster by the American Sportscasters Association.
A ranking system devised by author Curt Smith for his 2005 book "Voices of the Game" determined that Scully was baseball's greatest announcer, giving him a perfect score of 100, based on such factors as longevity, language, popularity and persona.
In addition to his work for the Dodgers, Scully broadcast football and golf for CBS from 1975 through 1982. The final football game he broadcast was the NFC championship game on Jan. 10, 1982, when Dwight Clark caught a 6- yard touchdown pass from Joe Montana in the final minute to give the San Francisco 49ers a 28-27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys to give them their first Super Bowl berth.
Scully moved to NBC in 1983, and was the play-byplay announcer on baseball's "Game of the Week."
Scully also hosted the game show, "It Takes Two" on NBC from 1969-70 and "The Vin Scully Show," a weekday afternoon talkvariety show on CBS in 1973.
Then-California Democratic Party Chairman Eugene Wyman tried to get Scully to run for the U.S. Senate in 1964. "We had lunch together and he said `Have you ever thought about politics?' " Scully said. "I said no. He said, `We had a meeting last night and we're looking for a candidate. We think that because of your experience on television ... you'd make a good candidate.' "I would not have thought for a moment (about running), but I said `Mr. Wyman, just give me 48 hours.' I figured that was a little respect. "At the end of 48 hours I called him and said, `I've
Vin Scully, voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, at Dodger Stadium.| Photo by Ken Lund (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Vin Scully
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given it a lot of thought and just don't think I'm qualified. I'm sure I'd be happier just doing my baseball games."'
Scully broadcast his final game at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 25, 2016. "I am terribly embarrassed," Scully told the crowd following the Dodgers' 4-3 victory 10-inning over the Colorado Rockies on Charlie Culberson's home run that assured them of their fourth consecutive National League West Division championship. "I was hoping that we would win the game 10-0 and there would be no tension and it would be a nice, easy day because I have a very, very small modest contribution on my last day. I have always felt that you folks in the stands have been far, far important to me. You have given me enthusiasm. You have given me young at heart. "Believe me when I tell you I've needed you far more than you needed me. I wanted to try and express my appreciation to all the players, God bless them, and to all you folks here in the ballpark. It's a very modest thing. I sang this for my wife. It was a loving gesture. You know the song, `Wind Beneath My Wings.' "That's what you are. You are the wind beneath the team's wings. You're my wind. I know it's modest. I know it's an amateur. Do you mind listening?"
Scully broadcast his final game on Oct. 2, 2016. He said he chose it to be his final game, instead of broadcasting the team's postseason games, because it came 80 years to the day from when he saw a sign in his native New York City showing the score of Game 2 of the 1936 World Series, an incident that made him a baseball fan. "It seems like the plan was laid out for me, and all I had to do was follow the instructions," Scully said.
Flowers will be placed on Scully's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6675 Hollywood Blvd. at noon Wednesday. Los Angeles City Hall will be lit in blue Wednesday night to honor Scully's legacy, "celebrate his contributions, and memorialize the man who could bring a city together with five magic words, `It's time for Dodger baseball,"' Mayor Eric Garcetti said. "Vin Scully was bigger than baseball," Garcetti said. "He was the soul of Los Angeles, the undisputed voice of America's pastime, and the narrator of some of the most thrilling moments of our lives. It is impossible to think about the Dodgers without reflecting on Vin's incomparable way with words and the boundless wisdom he shared with generations of fans around the world. "Our hearts are broken by his passing, but he will forever be remembered as an indispensable teller of L.A.'s story and the author of some of our most indelible memories."
Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw called Scully, "the best there ever was." "Just when you think about the Dodgers, there's a lot of history here and a lot of people who have come through, it's just a storied franchise all the way around, but it almost starts with Vin, honestly," Kershaw told SportsNet LA, the regional cable sports network that carries nearly all of the Dodgers' games.
At his farewell news conference, Scully said he would like to be remembered as "a good, honest man, a good husband, a good father, a good grandfather. I'm not even thinking about sports announcing."
Scully is survived by five children, Kevin, Todd, Erin, Kelly and Catherine, 21 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. His second wife Sandi died in 2021. His first wife Joan died in 1972.
A cause of death was not disclosed. Funeral services are pending. P asadena Public Health Department (PPHD) has received reports of the first cases of monkeypox infection in four Pasadena residents. All cases being reported have been confirmed by PPHD to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition for either a probable or confirmed case.
Monkeypox generally spreads through prolonged skin-to-skin contact. Contact includes prolonged intimate interactions, and sharing of infected bedding or clothing. If you have sex or intimate physical contact with many people, risk of contracting monkeypox is higher, PPHD said in its announcement.
The individuals are adults and are recovering with monitoring and support from PPHD. To maintain patient confidentiality, no other details on these individuals will be shared. PPHD is following up directly with those who have had close contact with these individuals and may be at risk for infection. Close contacts are informed on how to assess and monitor for signs and symptoms of illness, and are considered for postexposure prophylaxis with vaccination.
“We have been coordinating with our healthcare partners who are managing cases of monkeypox infections,” said PPHD Director and Health Officer Dr. Ying-Ying Goh. “We will are recommending individual and community mitigation measures to reduce the risk of spread of the monkeypox virus, and we will continue to provide vaccination to eligible populations as quickly as we receive federally-supplied vaccine.”
Monkeypox is a viral infection that can spread through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, or shared items (such as clothing and bedding) that have been contaminated with fluids from sores of a person with monkeypox. Although monkeypox is not generally considered a sexually transmitted infection, it can be transmitted during sex through skin-to-skin and other intimate contact, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Individuals with monkeypox may spread the virus through: - Respiratory secretions through prolonged face-toface interactions (the type that mainly happen when living with someone or caring for someone who has monkeypox); - Direct skin-to-skin contact with rash lesions or infectious sores/scabs; - Sexual/intimate contact, including kissing, hugging, massaging and cuddling; - Living in a house and sharing a bed with someone; and - Sharing towels or unwashed clothing.
People with monkeypox sometimes develop a flu-like illness with fever, fatigue, and enlarged lymph nodes followed by a rash. In other instances, people just develop a rash which can occur on the genitals or other areas of the body. People usually develop monkeypox 7 to 14 days (and up to 21 days) after being exposed.
Most people with monkeypox have a mild illness that improves without treatment over two to four weeks. Treatment is supportive and focused on easing the symptoms of the illness. Monkeypox is contagious and spreads easily to others until scabs have fallen off and a new layer of skin has formed. Monkeypox is not spread through casual brief conversations or walking by someone (like in a grocery store), PPHD emphasized.
To prevent the spread of monkeypox, PPHD recommends: - Avoiding close physical contact with people who have symptoms, including sores or rashes; - Talking to your sexual partner(s) about any recent illness and being aware of new or unexplained sores or rashes; - Avoiding contact with contaminated materials; - Wearing personal protective equipment (i.e., mask, gloves, gown) if you cannot avoid close contact with someone who has symptoms;
Practicing good hand hygiene; - Speaking to your healthcare provider about getting tested if you have symptoms; and - Staying in isolation until you are no longer considered infectious per public health guidance.
Public Health or clinic partners will directly communicate to eligible individuals to provide details on how and where to access the JYNNEOS vaccine. PPHD is providing monkeypox vaccines by invitation only to the following select groups of persons identified through public health investigation, including: - Persons confirmed by Public Health to have had high- or intermediate-risk contact with someone with monkeypox, as defined by CDC.
- Persons who attended an event/venue where there was high risk of exposure to an individual(s) with confirmed monkeypox virus through skin-to-skin or sexual contact. Public Health will work with event/venue organizers to identify persons who may have been present and at risk of exposure while at the venue. - Gay or bisexual men and transgender persons 18 years and older who: - Were diagnosed with gonorrhea or early syphilis within the past 12 months; or - Are on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); or - Attended or worked at a commercial sex venue or other venue where they had anonymous sex or sex with multiple partners (e.g., saunas, bathhouses, sex clubs, sex parties) within past 21 days; or - Had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last 14 days including engaging in survival and/or transactional sex (e.g., sex in exchange for shelter, food and other goods and needs).
Additional information may be found at CDC, California Department of Public Health, Pasadena Public Health Department, and LA County Department of Public Health monkeypox websites. For any questions about monkeypox or if you are concerned about your symptoms, speak to your primary care provider. If you do not have a regular provider, call LA County 2-1-1 for assistance.
Pasadena confirms first 4 cases of monkeypox in residents
By Staff
Nurse in a white coat filling a needle with an ampoule. | Photo Courtesy of Fernando Astasio/ Adobe Stock
LAX introduces first Automated People Mover train car Help sought in identifying hospitalized patient
By City News Service
Aerial view of People Mover in Central Terminal Area. | Photo courtesy of LAWA
The Los Angeles International Airport introduced its first Automated People Mover train car Tuesday, marking a step toward the future of how people will be able to travel to and from the airport.
The driverless train system is the centerpeice of LAX's Landside Access Modernization Program, featuring six stations that include connections to the Metro light rail system. The goal is to reduce the number of vehicles traveling into the airport's Central Terminal Area. "The Automated People Mover will be so much more than another way to get to LAX -- it's the piece of the puzzle that will curb the congestion that has been plaguing our airport for decades," Mayor Eric Garcetti said. "As we welcome the first car that will whisk travelers to renovated terminals, parking structures, Metro rail, and a new rental car facility, it's clear that a completely reimagined LAX is on the horizon."
The system is expected to be operational next year.
On Tuesday, local officials, including Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, gathered at the airport's Maintenance and Storage Facility for the celebratory event. "I am excited and proud to see the first train cars delivered for LAX's Automated People Mover," Waters said. "Construction has been moving at a fast pace and when complete will enable airline passengers to reach their terminals from anywhere near a Metro light rail line at a fraction of the current cost and without contributing to local traffic and vehicle emissions."
In a statement, Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin said the arrival of the first APM train cars marks a "new era in modernizing transportation" in Los Angeles. "Through innovation and a major investment in our future, LAX is setting a high bar with this transformational train system that will improve access and connectivity for travelers while reducing congestion and our carbon footprint," Bonin said.
The first train car traveled from the Alstom factory in Pittsburgh, arriving at LAX in June, with three more following. They will be among 44 train cars coming to the airport.
During peak hours, trains are expected to arrive at stations every two minutes, and take 10 minutes to go end-to-end. Each train car features 12 seats with large windows, ample hand holds and easy access to luggage, according to officials.
By City News Service
Authorities sought the public's help Tuesday to identify a patient who has been a patient at LAC+USC Medical Center since being brought to the hospital by paramedics.
The male patient was taken to the hospital on July 22 and has been unable to identify himself since, said Cesar Robles, a clinical social worker at the facility.
The patient was described as a Hispanic male between 16 and 20 years old, between 5-feet-7 and 5-feet-8 inches tall and weighing 154 pounds, with a small and thin build. He has short dark hair, brown eyes, a tattoo of a cross under his right eye and a second unspecified tattoo on his right hand.
Anyone with information on the patient's identity was urged to call Robles at 323-409-6884.
The male patient has been unable to identify himself. | Photo courtesy of Los Angeles County Department of Health
Private ambulance services to get more expensive in Los Angeles
By City News Service
Fixed rates for private ambulance services in Los Angeles are set to increase for the first time in five years after a City Council vote Wednesday.
The ordinance requires a second vote next Wednesday to pass.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has not adjusted the rates for the private ambulance industry in over five years due to staffing challenges and the coronavirus pandemic, according to a staff report. Several representatives of private ambulance companies told a Transportation Committee meeting in May that the increases are sorely needed for an industry that is facing staffing shortages and wage increases.
The rate for a private ambulance response for a call with basic equipment and personnel is now $1,305, and a response to a call requiring a paramedic ambulance is $1,852. The new rates are based on an 18.5% increase in the Consumer Price Index for transportation and medical care services in the Southern California region since 2016, according to a Department of Transportation analysis. "Private ambulance operators have waited a long time for this, since their costs have continued to increase at a dramatic pace and this will help a little bit to keep it up," Councilman Paul Koretz said at a Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday.
Some hospital operators that use private ambulance services voiced concerns over the rate increase, which Koretz said would be taken into consideration. "But right now, I think it's just been too difficult for the private ambulance operators," Koretz said.
For non-ambulatory passenger services, which haven't seen rates change since 2012, the cost for a response to a call for one wheelchair passenger is now $46, and a response to a call for a litter passenger is $116.50 per person. Those rates are based on a 20.2% increase in the CPI for such services over the last decade.
During the May committee meeting, Councilman Mike Bonin, the chair of the committee, said he heard criticism that there was too much time between the rate adjustments, raising the stakes for each one higher than it needed to be. The committee directed the Department of Transportation to examine how often it should adjust rates for such services.
COVID testing
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order to avoid out-of-pocket costs. The necessity of the test and whether one has health insurance will decide if costs will be incurred. CVS charges about $139 without health insurance for a PCR test while Walgreens charges $128 if you don’t meet the criteria for a free test.
For completely free testing, LA County still has plenty of sites that offer free PCR testing. On their website, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services still lists the available COVID testing sites in the area. Each listing makes sure to provide pertinent information for the various sites. As some citizens might feel uneasy standing in line to get tested, knowing if a site is a drive-up or walk-up location is important.
COVID is still not over
LA County voted not to implement indoor masking rules, noting a drop in cases as a reason to hold off on a new mandate. However, with the continued presence of the coronavirus, it is very likely that mask mandates aren’t off the table completely. Now more than ever, testing is key to keeping oneself safe from further illness.
Even though testing has become a normal part of living in the pandemic, staying informed of any significant changes is vital to staying healthy. Whether they are changes to testing or the virus itself, knowledge is power. In these uncertain times, it’s important to be armed with every tool at one’s disposal.
For a list of testing sites in Los Angeles County, visit their website at dhs.lacounty.gov/covid-19/testing/.
For more information about at-home testing, read our article, “ How reliable are at-home COVID-19 tests” on our website.
