With 7,279 Malibu residents having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of this week—an increase of 19 over the previous week—it is thought Malibu’s total vaccination rate for residents ages 12 and up could be over 70 percent, not far behind the county’s average vaccination rate of 77.6 percent.
However, LA County Department of Public Health continued to use 2019 population estimates of 11,820, making it appear Malibu’s vaccination rate is below average at just 63.6 percent. Malibu’s real population as of the 2020 United States Census was measured at 10,654—but could really be closer to 10,000 as of 2021.
The schoolwide vaccination rates tell another story—Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has a vaccination rate of 81.6 percent, making it the ninth-most vaccinated district in LA County. With a school population estimated at 6,656, it is a significantly larger district than any of the top eight most vaccinated, most of which have fewer than 5,000 students.
As of Tuesday, Oct. 5, there were two cases of the virus reported at Malibu Middle/High school and none at Malibu Elementary and Webster Elementary. In total, there were nine students and/or faculty quarantining as of Tuesday, due to possible contact.
In total, 656 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among Malibu residents since the pandemic began, with 10 of those discovered in the week from Sept. 28-Oct. 4. Ten residents have reportedly been killed by the virus.