Black residents have highest COVID hospitalizations in L.A. - Los Angeles Times

Black residents have the highest rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations among all racial and ethnic groups in Los Angeles County, new data show, a troubling disparity even as hospitalization rates for all groups have stabilized or started to decline.

On a weekly basis, for every 100,000 unvaccinated Black residents, more than 15 are hospitalized with COVID-19, higher than for both Latino and white residents, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported.

But even among vaccinated people, Black residents are more likely to be hospitalized: For every 100,000 vaccinated Black residents, about five were hospitalized on a recent weekly basis, twice as many as other groups.

For every 100,000 unvaccinated Black and Latino residents, there are about 150 weekly coronavirus cases; by contrast, for every 100,000 unvaccinated white residents, there are about 100 weekly cases.

Younger Black and Latino residents are among the groups with the lowest vaccination rates in Los Angeles County, and health advocates have urged that more be done to inoculate those groups.

County residents 12 and older, 53% of Black residents have received at least one shot, as have 62% of Latino residents.

Among all residents in San Francisco, 69% of Black residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, roughly the same as the rate for white residents; roughly 80% of Asian Americans and Latinos have received at least one dose.

Vaccination rates in Alameda County, where Oakland is located, also are significantly higher among Black and Latino residents than in L.A.

County: 69% of Black residents, 75% of Latino residents, 76% of white residents and 90% of Asian American residents have received at least one dose.

There were higher rates of long COVID among Black residents, people 40 or older, women and those with preexisting health conditions, according to the study, conducted by UC Davis epidemiologists and the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.