Although parts of California are widening the pool for those who can get the COVID-19 vaccine, officials continue to be patient because the demand for doses is still much higher in supply.
A sign of this challenging contrast emerged Wednesday when Los Angeles County announced that some teachers, food and agricultural workers and first responders would begin receiving COVID-19 vaccinations in two to three weeks.
It cheered. But hours later, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said a shortage of available vaccinations would force officials to close five vaccination sites in the city for at least two days, beginning Friday.
Until significantly larger shipments of the two vaccines used in the U.S. begin to roll in consistently, officials say it will still take time to vaccinate those now eligible, let alone the millions of Californians who have not yet in line should not come.
“With a very limited vaccine supply and uncertainty in the timing of increased production, a realistic and carefully designed plan is being developed to expand the availability of vaccinations to these additional sectors,” said Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health in LA County , Said Wednesday.
Some officials are concerned about extending vaccine admissions until more elderly people are vaccinated.
Orange County, for example, will continue to focus on residents aged 65 and older over the next two weeks, Dr. Clayton Chau, director of the health care agency and health officer in the country, said Tuesday. Other groups already eligible for the vaccine in Orange County are health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities and employees of law enforcement who work in areas with high COVID-19 rates, such as Anaheim and Santa Ana.
‘Add more people [to those eligible to get the vaccine] will give seniors less chance of being vaccinated, ”Chau told the board of supervisors on Tuesday. “And I just want to remind people that they are the most vulnerable people.”
What are the changes in LA County?
Details on how to expand the vaccine for teachers and workers in LA County are still being ironed out, but the move represents a significant expansion of the country’s vaccine explosion. Until now, only health workers and those living in long-term care facilities or at least 65 years old could book appointments.
While the majority of seniors in LA County are still waiting to receive their shots, officials have warned that it will take time to give doses to large numbers of educators, child care workers, food and agricultural workers, and emergency services and law enforcement.
More than 1.3 million Angelenos working in those countries can be vaccinated. This includes about 668,000 teachers, childcare workers and other educators; at least 548,000 food and agricultural workers, including employees of grocery stores; and about 155,000 workers in law enforcement, the courts and shipping offices.
About 2.2 million LA County residents are already eligible, and the country still has a lot of work to do to clear the queue.
Of the approximately 4.4 million doses that LA County must all inoculate, the province needs to receive only 1.28 million doses, of which 1.05 million were administered from last week.
Ferrer said that about 80% of the elderly have not yet received a single dose, and that both vaccines used – Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – require two shots, which must be taken weeks apart.
What do future stocks look like?
LA County officials expect the vaccine supply to remain limited in the near future, with only about 200,000 doses per week. Since the transport must be divided between the first and the second dose, there is a clear limit on how many people can start their vaccination.
However, officials hope the shortage will ease in the coming months – especially with the expected arrival of the single-dose vaccine Johnson & Johnson, assuming it gets the OK from US drug regulators. Two other potential vaccines are also on the horizon.
‘It will therefore take time to reach everyone. And in these times of scarcity of vaccines, we must ask everyone to wait their turn, ”Ferrer said.
Los Angeles County, by far the most populous state in the country, has let its vaccines bounce wildly over the past month, making it difficult for officials to pin down the amount of supplies they will have accurately. About 193,950 doses arrived the week of January 11, but the following week 168,575 were delivered and only the week after that, 137,725 arrived there.
The province recently received 184,625 doses – a number that is expected to rise to more than 218,000 this week.
California officials deplore the limited and variable vaccines they have received and say they have the ability to deliver significantly more shots.
“The demand is supply. That is the limit, “Gavin Newsom said this week. So if you ask me, ‘What are we doing to vaccinate this group, the group, what about this group, what about the group? “It’s a matter of scarcity now. It’s a matter of supply. ”
What happens to vaccines administered in the city?
After the stock’s first doses of the Moderna vaccine were depleted, Los Angeles will temporarily close its transit and walking vaccination centers, including the largest site in Dodger Stadium, Garcetti said Wednesday. The centers will be open until at least Saturday.
The mayor described the supply of vaccines in the city as uneven and unpredictable: this week, the city received 16,000 doses, only about 3,000 more than city officials averaged on the five vaccination sites per day. By comparison, the city received 90,000 doses last week and 29,000 the previous week, he said.
Everyone who received a first dose of Moderna will get a second chance, Garcetti said. The city has so far administered 293,252 vaccines, using 98% of the doses it has received, he said.
The city will keep open mobile vaccination clinics sent to areas of South Los Angeles where residents have been infected and killed by the virus at the excessive rate, the mayor said.
Garcetti said he hopes to reopen the drive-in centers Tuesday or Wednesday.