LA County no longer requires COVID vaccine for healthcare workers.

Healthcare Workers in ⁢Los ‍Angeles County No⁣ Longer Required to Get COVID-19 Vaccine or Wear ⁣Masks

Exciting news for healthcare workers in Los Angeles ⁣County!‌ The ​public health⁤ department has announced that they are no longer required to get⁢ a COVID-19​ vaccine or ⁣wear masks, despite a recent increase in cases.

The county’s⁢ health officer, Barbara Ferrer, made ‍the decision⁢ to⁣ rescind the vaccination requirement on⁣ August 4, following the‌ lifting ‌of the national mandate​ by‍ the federal Centers for Medicare ⁤and Medicaid Services nine days prior.

“The⁣ COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be required for workers in‌ healthcare ​settings; ‌however, ⁣health care workers are encouraged to be fully ‌up to date on COVID-19‌ vaccines,” the ‌Los⁢ Angeles ⁢County department ⁢announced in a press release.

Workers can also stop ⁣wearing masks after August 11, though the health department still‌ encourages ‌workers to do ​both⁤ if they work ‍in⁣ hospitals, nursing homes, or​ other care facilities.

“At this point in the pandemic, and​ following the State⁣ of California lifting masking ‌requirements in healthcare facilities, ‍we are allowing hospitals and healthcare facilities‌ to create policies that tailor‍ to their needs,” a ​spokesperson for the Los⁤ Angeles County Department of ⁢Health told The Epoch Times⁢ in‍ an email.⁣ “We know many facilities will opt to keep‍ masking.”

The county’s vaccine mandate for most healthcare workers went into⁤ effect two ‍years ago in August 2021.

Los Angeles County continued enforcing⁣ vaccine and mask mandates five‌ months‌ after‌ California ended its statewide emergency and cancelled the orders on April 3.

New Variant ​Arrives

The World Health ‍Organization (WHO) has identified ‌ EG.5 as the⁢ newest variant of the virus, with China and the United States reporting the most cases of the strain. In Los Angeles,⁤ the variant has been attributed to ​about 7 percent of cases, ⁤according to⁣ the county health department.

County health officials have seen an uptick in hospitalizations related to the virus‍ recently, reaching a weekly average of 333 new cases⁢ and 293 ​hospitalizations this week, ‍according ​to​ the department.

Currently, the county has reported 3.4 new hospital cases⁣ per 100,000 people in the past week, ⁣which is considered ​”low” by the⁢ federal Centers⁣ for ⁤Disease Control, the health department said. If that​ number reaches 10​ out of 100,000 people, the county would⁤ move into⁢ a higher classification.

“Even though we have seen a slight ‌uptick in COVID hospitalizations in⁤ the past few weeks, ⁣we are still near ⁢record low COVID hospitalizations compared to the rest of the pandemic,” a department spokesperson said.

The average number of people who have​ died from the virus ⁢in July is also at⁢ its ​lowest point since March 2020, according to the‍ department.

However, as children return to school in August and September, ⁣the number of cases could rise, county health officials ‍said. Consequently, the health department‍ said it is working ​with schools to distribute necessary resources and implement safety measures to⁣ prevent the spread of the virus.