LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) Los Angeles County Supervisors Board Chair Hilda L. Solis on Monday signed an executive order directing the LA County Department of Public Health to make COVID-19 vaccine appointments available to residents 65 and older from Thursday. .
‘In recent weeks, the county of Los Angeles has administered the vaccine to frontline health workers so they can stay safe while doing the important work of saving lives, and residents and staff in competent nursing homes and long-term care. facilities, ”Solis said in an email. ‘The COVID-19 vaccine vaccination has been a huge undertaking, especially during an unprecedented boom where cases, hospitalizations and deaths are still soaring.
“However, if we are ever to emerge from this dark winter, it is critical that we vaccinate people aged 65 and over as soon as possible – in line with the recommendations of Governor Gavin Newsom,” the statement continued.
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Solis said she gives the health department until Thursday the opportunity to start appointments for 65-year-olds through Thursday so they can ‘adequately prepare for implementation.
But hours earlier, dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, chief medical officer of the province, said the country would not yet be able to move at some point to vaccinate seniors.
‘If we see by the end of the week that the increase in health workers is slowing down, which indicates that we need to go to phase 1B, especially Tier 1 for the elderly, we will make the call fairly quickly. , “he said.
The move comes after researchers at Cedars-Sinai announced that a new local strain, designated Cal.20C, may be contributing to the boom and was found in more than one-third of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles.
Gunzenhauser said the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health kept track of it, and a number of other mutations – including one first detected in the UK.
“We’re worried that if that happens, you know it’s popping up and causing a lot of transmission, that we could see a big wave in February or March,” he said.
Public Health has not yet issued a statement on the executive order that can be seen online, but said earlier that it is delaying the rollout of elderly residents citing the shortage of vaccines, as it worked to health care and frontline workers first vaccinate too late.
The department is hosting a virtual COVID-19 vaccine townhouse on Wednesday.
Check out the COVID-19 Vaccine Board Hall tomorrow at 6: 00-7: 30 p.m.
Post a question at https://t.co/KT7Lzwc3H1 https://t.co/o9zdL0PZ9s
– LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) 18 January 2021