LA County plans to open COVID-19 vaccines to residents aged 65 and over in early February

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – The race to offer more coronavirus vaccines in Los Angeles County started more slowly, as there are still doubts about when and how many more vaccines will arrive from the federal government.

LA County is lagging behind other Southern California counties when it comes to vaccination for people 65 and older, but county health officials say their goal is to start offering the vaccine to that age group. in early February – a goal they say is dependent on the vaccine they provide.

Currently, LA County is offering the vaccine only to qualified healthcare professionals and residents and nursing staff, although the state does open eligibility for residents 65 and older. County officials say they still don’t have adequate doses locally to start vaccinating residents of that age group.

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Health officials say there are about 1.3 million people aged 65 and over in the county, which has a population of 10 million. More information about the vaccine distribution in the county is available on its website.

There are reports that states may not receive their early shipments of vaccines from the national stockpile next week because the federal dose reserve has already run out. Governor Gavin Newsom says California has already received 3 million doses and more are expected to come from the federal government.

Newsom says California has predicted to receive hundreds of thousands of doses and is still trying to get answers from the Trump administration and is working with the Biden administration to get answers on when they could get more vaccines.

As LA County approaches 1 million cases of COVID-19, the county announced on Friday that five more mass vaccination sites will be opened. Dodger Stadium opened as a vaccination site on Friday.

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The new sites will begin vaccination on Tuesday and will be able to vaccinate 4,000 people a day at each site. The county expects to complete an additional 500,000 vaccinations by the end of the month. The new super sites will be located at:

– Fairplex in Pomona

– The Forum in Inglewood

– Cal State University in Northridge

– LA County Education Office in Downey

– Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia

Meanwhile, local leaders, like LA Mayor Nury Martinez, are calling for a waiting list for people aged 65 and over, as well as for those on the front lines as essential workers for vaccinate more people more quickly.