Category: Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

Santa Monica Residents Push Backs Against Outdoor Needle Distribution Site

Some residents in Santa Monica, an idyllic beach town in Southern California, are pushing for an outdoor county-operated program, which distributes clean syringes weekly to homeless drug users near the city’s parks, to be moved indoors to a county-owned facility. The “overdose prevention program”—which is overseen by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s…


Santa Monica Residents Push Back Against Outdoor Needle Distribution Site for Homeless

Some residents in Santa Monica, an idyllic beach town in Southern California, are pushing for an outdoor county-operated program, which distributes clean syringes weekly to homeless drug users near the city’s parks, to be moved indoors to a county-owned facility. The “overdose prevention program”—which is overseen by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s…


Hepatitis A Case Linked to Recalled Frozen Strawberries Sold in Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced April 14 it recently identified a case of hepatitis A linked to a multistate outbreak from frozen organic strawberries imported from Mexico and sold in Los Angeles County. The Food and Drug Administration has recalled several brands of frozen strawberries, and different suppliers are taking…


LA County Officials Warn Deadly Drug ‘Tranq’ Poses Serious Overdose Risk

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles County health officials issued a public alert March 8, warning of increased overdose risks associated with the animal sedative xylazine, which has been detected in illicit drugs in areas including San Francisco and San Diego. LA County reports that the presence of xylazine, commonly known as tranq, in these California cities indicates…


City of Torrance Votes ‘No Confidence’ in LA County Public Health Director

TORRANCE, Calif.—City officials passed a vote of no confidence in Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer Aug. 9, saying the restrictions she imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic had violated people’s freedom and hurt businesses in the city. The council voted 4–1 in favor of the item brought forward by Councilman Aurelio Mattucci, with…


Los Angeles County May Reinstate Indoor Mask Mandate July 29

Los Angeles County will reinstate its indoor mask mandate on July 29 unless COVID-19 hospitalization numbers fall, according to Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. While “it’s never too late to reverse course,” Ferrer said, “It’s hard to imagine that two weeks from now the hospital data metric will drop.” As of Thursday, the average daily rate…


LA County to Offer Monkeypox Vaccines to Select Residents, Based on Risk

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles (LA) County health officials said July 1 is aligning with federal guidelines on the distribution of monkeypox vaccines, offering the shots to people who have had confirmed contact with an existing case or who attended an event where there was a high risk of exposure. According to the county, doses of the…


Los Angeles Councilors Seek to Issue Emblem Placards to Licensed Cannabis Stores

LOS ANGELES—As a measure to protect cannabis consumers from untested and unregulated products at unlicensed businesses, two Los Angeles City Councilors introduced a motion on May 4 aimed at implementing a county program that issues emblem placards to licensed cannabis businesses. Under the County of Los Angeles’s Emblem Program for Authorized Cannabis Stores, storefront and…


New Omicron Sub-Variant Proliferating Globally, LA County Officials on High Alert

A new sub-variant of Omicron detected in California a few weeks ago is now proliferating in Europe and Asia, and Los Angeles County health officials worry that the new strain could lead to a new COVID surge in the county. BA.2, known as the “Stealth Omicron,” is one of the four Omicron sub-variants. The recent…


LA County Indoor Mask Mandate Could Be Lifted Friday: Health Director

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles County’s much-debated COVID-19 indoor mask-wearing mandate could be lifted by Friday, according to the public health director, aligning the county with the state’s action that took effect Tuesday. The move would mean Los Angeles County will no longer require people to wear masks at indoor businesses. The county is one of the…