Season Tickets, $50K Up For Grabs In This Week's Vaccine Lottery

LOS ANGELES, CA — The race to vaccinate as many people as possible before the state's full reopening June 15 is in the final stretch, and county officials are hoping that a myriad of prizes will induce holdouts to cross the finish line.

Dropping case rates shouldn't be a reason not to get the vaccine, county officials said Tuesday. On the contrary, they are proof that the vaccines are saving lives, said county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

"Our metrics continue to improve, and we continue to see declines in cases, hospitalizations and deaths," Ferrer said. "Vaccinations are saving lives and I ask each of you to continue keeping yourself, your friends and your family members safe by getting vaccinated if you haven't done so already. We end this pandemic with vaccinations."

The push to ramp up slowing vaccination rates comes as a new studies found that most people hospitalized with the coronavirus experience long-term effects from the infection.

According to researchers at Stanford University, 45 studies of nearly 10,000 moderate or severe COVID-19 patients found symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog and body aches lasted for at least two months in 73 percent of patients.

It's another reason state and local health officials are urging residents not to put off getting the shot. And if the risk of infection isn't enough to compel some people to get the shot, this week's $50,000 vaccine lottery drawing might, state officials hope. On Friday, the state will hold the first of two planned drawings, awarding $50,000 in cash to 15 people who have been vaccinated. A second drawing will be held June 11 to pick another 15 winners. On June 15, the date the state is scheduled to lift the majority of its COVID-19 restrictions, the state will draw the names of 10 vaccinated residents, each of whom will receive $1.5 million.

Closer to home, any adult who gets their first vaccine this week at any of the county-run vaccination sites, city sites and the St. John's Well Child and Family Center sites will have an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the 2021-2022 home season of either the LA Kings or the LA Galaxy. Two residents will be awarded prizes. The contest is also open to anyone receiving a second dose who brings another person with them to be vaccinated.

State and local officials are hoping to get as many residents vaccinated as they can before the June 15 date. Officials had earlier targeted an 80% vaccination rate to reach so-called "herd immunity" against the virus. But Ferrer has backed off that figure in recent weeks, saying only that it is imperative to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

As of Friday, a total of 9,564,035 vaccine doses had been administered in the county, including more than 5.5 million first doses and more than 4 million second doses. Among county residents age 16 and older, 63% have received at least one dose, and 51% are fully vaccinated. Among those 65 and older, 85% have received at least one dose, and 72% are fully vaccinated.

The county on Tuesday reported another three COVID-19 deaths, lifting the overall death toll to 24,346.

Another 108 infections were announced by the county, pushing the cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 1,244,161.

The numbers of new cases and deaths tend to be lower at the beginning of the week, due to reporting lags from the weekend.

According to state figures, there were 254 people hospitalized in the county due to COVID, with 47 people in intensive care.

State health officials released weekly case updates on Tuesday, and the county's average daily rate of new COVID-19 infections fell to 0.7 per 100,000 residents, down from 0.9 last week. The county's testing-positivity rate was 0.4%, down from 0.5% last week.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.