Los Angeles continued to struggle with the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine due to a variety of factors on Friday, as officials moved forward with efforts to vaccinate underserved black and Latin communities.
The city has postponed more vaccination appointments scheduled for Saturday, as vaccine shipments remain stuck in traffic due to the winter weather that has hit much of the country.
It was not immediately clear how many appointments were affected, but delays will occur at large-scale vaccination sites run by the city in the Hansen Dam Recreation Area, San Fernando Park, Lincoln Park, Pierce College, Crenshaw Christian Center and Dodger Stadium.
Authorities have already postponed 12,500 consultations scheduled for Friday because of supply disruptions. Mobile vaccination clinics run by the city will continue to operate as scheduled.
Authorities said on Thursday afternoon that weather delays have not yet stopped operations at LA County-administered vaccination sites, which include the Pomona Fairplex, the Inglewood Forum, Cal State Northridge, the county Education Office, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Balboa Sports Complex and the El Sereno Recreation Center.
The new postponements, which Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Friday, mark the latest consequences winter which hit much of the country, with days of freezing rain, ice and snow that disrupted power, landed flights and created dangerous travel conditions.
The inclement weather has hindered two shipments of the Moderna vaccine to Los Angeles, totaling about 63,000 doses, which should be available for consultation this week and next, according to city officials.
The main manufacturing facilities for the country’s two COVID-19 vaccines – manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech – are in Massachusetts and Michigan.
The state was anticipating an increase in vaccine deliveries in the coming weeks, but that was before winter storms. And these distributions would still have brought in far fewer doses than needed to quickly deal with the queue of people eligible to receive vaccines.
California – along with the rest of the country – fights vaccine shortages, with officials saying they have the capacity, but not the supply, to inoculate significantly more people.
A consistent challenge is that both available COVID-19 vaccines require two doses, given three or four weeks apart.
Lately, the need to fire second shots has encouraged authorities across the state to significantly limit access to first doses.
Meanwhile, authorities are stepping up efforts to provide more vaccines to underserved communities.
“We are still seeing disproportionately low vaccination rates among many of our black and Latin populations and communities, a reflection not only of the historical distrust and trauma of the community, but also of the structural barriers that stand between many Angelenos and their access to vaccines” . Garcetti said Thursday. “We need to break down those barriers.”
His comments came after data showed that blacks, Latinos and Native American residents aged 65 and over were receiving COVID-19 vaccinations at a lower rate than their white, Asian American and Pacific Island counterparts.
In LA County, Latinos are seeing 40 deaths from COVID-19 per 100,000 residents per day and black residents are seeing 20 deaths, compared with 14 deaths per 100,000 white residents per day.
The neighborhoods will be prioritized for mobile vaccination clinics using medical vulnerability indicators developed by UCLA researchers, including the incidence of pre-existing health conditions, barriers to accessing the service, environmental risks and social vulnerability.
Mobile vaccination services this week expanded to South Park, Green Meadows and Boyle Heights; in the coming days, this will expand to include Chinatown, Vermont Square and Pico-Union, the city said in a press release. By the end of March, the city expects to have additional locations in East LA, South LA, Northeast LA and East San Fernando Valley.