In case you missed it, the state of California is now allowing those 65 and older to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
But in Los Angeles County, health officials say they aren’t ready to immunize people in that age group until February at the earliest. That’s because there simply aren’t enough doses of the vaccine available yet.
The county and its 200 partners currently have close to 700,000 doses for health care workers, and have administered around 300,000 so far, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health’s Dr. Paul Simon, who spoke with our newsroom’s local news and culture show, Take Two, which airs on 89.3 KPCC.
To get more people vaccinated, the county is opening five large-scale vaccination centers, including one at Dodger Stadium, that are expected to inoculate up to 4,000 people a day — 260,000 by the end of the month. The county hopes its partners can administer doses to another 250,000 people, so that 500,000 health care workers are vaccinated by the end of the month, including support staff.
But all of this got us thinking: how are you supposed to know when it’s time for you to get your shot?
Simon said the county will be using several different channels to make sure citizens are aware when their turn comes:
“Of course, we’ll be working with the media to get the word out. But in addition, [we’ll be] working with healthcare providers, who then will contact their patients who are in that age group. We’ll work with various organizations like the AARP, and others. And we have a newsletter that anyone can sign up for on our website. So we’ll use all of those channels to try to get the word out.”
That website is VaccinateLACounty.com.
Look for the newsletter sign up box on the left (if you’re on desktop) or near the top of the page on mobile. Or just click on the image here.
When you sign up, county officials said you’ll be get updated via the newsletter on which groups are eligible to receive the vaccine.
L.A. County is still in the first phase, Phase 1A, which the public heath site defines as:
“Healthcare workers listed in Phase 1A who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials. (Low risk healthcare workers such as administrative support staff WITHOUT routine in-person patient contact, will be offered vaccination in Phase 1B Tier2).”
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LISTEN TO THE TAKE TWO INTERVIEW:
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Here’s a look at longer-term trends in the county, state and the U.S, courtesy of the Google News Initiative and California’s COVID-19 dashboard. You can also visit our California COVID-19 Tracker and choose California or any county in the state that interests you.
CASES AND DEATHS
HOSPITALIZATIONS AND ICU CAPACITY
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