All health professionals in the county can now be vaccinated, which includes, but is not limited to, those who work in emergency or primary care clinics, dental offices or pharmacies. Previously, only frontline workers in hospitals and nursing homes were allowed to inject.
Authorities are trying to speed up the launch – which has been considerably slow as cases continue to rise – with the possibility that vaccines will expire if not delivered in time.
RELATED: Woman from Los Angeles, 105, dies of COVID-19 the week she should receive the vaccine
The county wants to vaccinate 500,000 health workers by the end of January.
The five new vaccine distribution sites, which are due to open across the county next week, will be in addition to the city-operated vaccination site that opens this week at Dodger Stadium, which was the largest COVID-19 test site. in the country.
The municipality already has dozens of vaccination posts throughout the area providing doses of the drug. The new large-capacity sites – whose locations have not been cleared – “will allow us to speed up the vaccination of frontline health workers,” county director of public health, Barbara Ferrer, said on Monday.
“These five locations, in addition to the locations of our private partners, will allow us to complete an additional 500,000 vaccinations among our healthcare professionals by the end of January, ” she said.
If vaccinations are completed for most health workers in the county by the end of the month, the next phase of the distribution effort is expected to begin in early February. This phase, known as 1B, would include people aged 75 and over and some categories of essential workers. By the end of March, the county expects to start phase 1C, which would include people aged 50 and over, or people over 16 with underlying health problems that put them at greater risk for serious illness.
MORE: 182 arrested during underground parties in the LA area, says LASD
The vaccination effort comes as the county and state continue to see an increase in COVID-19 cases and deaths – with an average person dying every eight minutes in the county and 10 people testing positive every minute.
Ferrer said the county is “rapidly increasing our pace to reach the grim milestone of 1 million cases. ”
With 12,617 new infections confirmed on Monday, along with 122 announced by health officials from Pasadena and 88 through Long Beach, the county’s total since the pandemic began was 932,908. The county also announced another 137 deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, while Pasadena confirmed an additional fatality, bringing the death toll across the county to 12,388.
Hospitals remain crowded with coronavirus patients, with only 650 beds – including 48 beds for intensive care units – available as of Monday at the 70 medical centers that receive 911. But the authorities expressed some casual optimism about reducing new hospitalizations in the last days.
According to the state, there were 7,926 patients with COVID-19 in LA County hospitals on Monday, including 1,724 in intensive care. Last week, the overall number reached 8,000. Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday that in the past two weeks, the number of people hospitalized has increased by 6% in the last 14 days, “one of the smallest increases we’ve seen in a two-week period in some time.
“It’s just a point of optimism, a little bit of light, ” said Newsom, while warning that another leap in hospitalizations is still possible due to the recent winter holidays.
RELATED: LA County Advising Residents to Wear Masks at Home If They Live With Vulnerable People
Los Angeles County Director of Health Services, Dr. Christina Ghaly, also noted that hospitalization numbers appear to have “stabilized” after dramatic increases in recent weeks, but hospital overcrowding has not yet been alleviated. She noted that in the four counties operated in hospitals, more than half of all inpatients are being treated for COVID-19 and more than 75% of ICU patients have the virus. She said these figures are similar for other hospitals in the municipality.
“We still have patients being admitted to the emergency departments and we still have our clinical teams looking after more patients than they would under normal circumstances,” said Ghaly.
“… There remains a shortage of staff across the county in all hospitals in health facilities, and we are still in the midst of this deadly increase, ” she said. We will be looking at the data very carefully in the coming days, as this is the time when we anticipate starting to see an increase in patients over the last Christmas and New Year holidays. ”
County supervisor Hilda Solis – again urging residents to adhere to infection control measures, such as wearing masks and staying at home as much as possible – offered a bleak reminder of the continuing severity of the pandemic, watching people’s pain who die of COVID -19 in a hospital, separated from their loved ones.
MORE: Gorillas Test Coronavirus Positive at San Diego Zoo Safari Park
“To die of COVID in the hospital means to die alone, ” said Solis.” … Families are sharing their last goodbyes on tablets and cell phones. ”
Solis said she heard stories from health professionals about these conversations, saying that they often include children or younger relatives apologizing to their parents or grandparents for bringing the virus into their homes.
“These excuses are some of the last words that loved ones will hear when they die alone,” said Solis. Please don’t let this be your family. Don’t let them be your parents or grandparents. ”
About 5 million people have been tested for COVID-19 in the county since the pandemic began, with 18% testing positive.
The city’s news service contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2021 KABC-TV. All rights reserved.