LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – Orange County and the city of Long Beach announced on Tuesday that they will immediately begin offering the COVID-19 vaccine to older California residents.
Long Beach health officials said residents 75 and older could receive the vaccine starting Saturday, with clinics held weekly for people in that age group.
OC officials have announced that they will immediately start offering vaccines to people 65 and older.
“COVID-19 is literally everywhere,” said Dr. Jim Keany of Mission Hospital. “At the moment, Orange County has a 17% positive test rate. This means that almost one in five people you pass has COVID. “
Some Southern California jurisdictions are moving forward with more availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Dodger Stadium and other locations across the state were harnessed to serve as mass vaccination sites.
The news comes at a time when the OC Health Care Agency reported an additional 28 deaths from COVID-19 and 3,258 new cases, increasing the death toll to 2,148 and the cumulative case count to 195,685.
The number of patients hospitalized with coronavirus fell from 2,221 on Monday to 2,200 on Tuesday. The number of patients in intensive care units dropped from a record 544 on Monday to 535.
At a virtual meeting on Tuesday, California Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said that authorities are reviewing the new federal government guidelines, encouraging states to reevaluate COVID-19 vaccine delivery priorities.
While some reports say that some people are hesitant to be vaccinated, others are pressing for vaccines more quickly. On Monday, local leaders of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union representing workers in the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports sent a letter to county health officials and the governor, asking them to become eligible for vaccines early in the Phase. 1B.
ILWU said eight union members had died of the virus since the beginning of December and, in the first week of January, another 54 positive cases were confirmed among workers.
“It is thanks to the hard work of our members that the cargo moves efficiently through the San Pedro Bay Port Complex,” wrote ILWU. “This, in turn, keeps store shelves stocked with the food, products and personal protective equipment that millions of Americans need while sheltering or caring for those suffering from the effects of COVID-19. While we are proud to be essential, we refuse to be neglected as this virus spreads. “
Despite nearly 2.5 million doses of vaccines distributed to California, about 784,000 injections were administered as of last weekend, Newsom said on Monday.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The city’s news service contributed to this report.)