Five major COVID-19 vaccination sites are scheduled to open next week in Los Angeles County, while public health officials accelerate preparations for an expected increase in demand after this week’s expansion of the vaccine eligibility list for residents of Los Angeles. 65 years or older.
The locations are Pomona Fairplex, the Forum in Inglewood, Cal State Northridge, LA County Department of Education in Downey and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia.
Openings happen at a crucial moment. Although residents 65 and older are now on the priority vaccination list, they cannot actually receive vaccines until the county first vaccinates some 500,000 health workers. The authorities hope to achieve this goal by the end of the month.
“In LA County, we have to vaccinate 10 million people, twice,” said supervisor Janice Hahn. “These large-scale vaccination sites will help us get there, greatly increasing our ability to vaccinate people quickly and efficiently.”
Each location must vaccinate 4,000 people a day. Commitments and proof of employment in the health sector will be needed to obtain the injection, the county said. The five sites must remain open for at least four weeks. They are administered separately from the vaccine site of the city’s Dodger Stadium.
The uncertainty remains about whether the county will receive enough doses to meet its goals.
“We are not done with our health care professionals yet,” said LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Wednesday, adding that the county has asked the state for more doses. “We received no response from the state about the availability of the vaccine and how it would be distributed.”
The need for more vaccines has echoed in other counties. To date, the state has received more than 2.9 million doses of vaccine and administered less than a third.