Los Angeles County To Get Largest COVID-19 Vaccine Shipment Yet

LOS ANGELES, CA — The vaccine shortage plaguing Los Angeles is expected to ease in the coming week, in what county leaders hope is the start of a new era of accessibility.

Los Angeles County will receive its largest vaccine allotment to date, and for the first time in weeks, a majority of the doses will be used for first-time doses. Nearly two-thirds of the supply will be used for first doses, triggering a jump in the number of people vaccinated countywide..

The newly authorized single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will play a major role in the ramp-up. According to Dr. Paul Simon, the county Department of Public Health's chief science officer, the county will receive 312,000 doses of vaccine next week, including 53,700 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The increase in doses comes as the opens up the pool of people eligible to receive shots. Roughly 1.7 million essential workers, including teachers, became eligible this week, on top of the health care workers and residents aged 65 and over who were already eligible.

Then, starting March 15, Simon said the county will adhere to new state guidance that expands eligibility to everyone aged 16 to 64 with an underlying health condition that makes them susceptible to severe illness or death from COVID-19.

County officials acknowledge that it will be logistically challenging to open up the vaccination eligibility pool so quickly.

Simon said county officials, however, are still awaiting more guidance from the state on how to determine who will fall into that eligibility category.

"We're a bit concerned because, you know, there are a number of health conditions on the list, and in addition, at the end of the list is a category of `disability' which would allow someone to have eligibility, if the disability gets in the way, for example, of accessing medical services for COVID. And there are some other criteria, but I think that needs to be defined a little more clearly."
He said that ideally, people with such disabilities or health conditions would be able to get the vaccine from their own doctors.

"At a large community (vaccine site), where people are presenting and we don't know anything about their medical history, it's challenging," Simon said. "I think we might have to rely on a letter from the provider, of course, those letters could be forged."

As of Friday, 2,415,460 doses of vaccine have been administered in the county, Simon said. That includes 814,593 second doses, meaning that many people have been fully vaccinated.

Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that the city of Los Angeles has surpassed a half-million doses, with 511,698 shots administered as of Friday at city-run sites. The city has given out approximately 96% of its received supply, Garcetti said. The total doses represent more than 20% of the total vaccinations administered in L.A. County.

As health officials focus on vaccinating as many people as possible, the number of coronavirus cases dropped Saturday along with hospitalizations and deaths.

Los Angeles County reported 1,823 new cases of COVID-19 and 98 additional deaths Saturday, along with 16 additional cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, bringing the total cases of MIS- C in L.A. County to 116 children, including one child death.

The number of coronavirus patients in L.A. County hospitals has fallen to 1,176, according to state health officials. That's a huge drop from the peak of the winter surge in early January, when the number was over 8,000.

Of the 98 new deaths, 36 were over the age of 80, 34 were between 65 and 79, 21 were between 50 and 64 and six were between 30 and 49. One death was reported by the city of Pasadena, which has its own health department.

Saturday's numbers brought the county's totals to 1,201,866 cases and 22,000 deaths since the pandemic began, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

All 116 children with MIS-C were hospitalized, and 41% were treated in the ICU. Of the children with MIS-C, 29% were under the age of 5, 43% were between 5 and 11, and 28% were between 12 and 20. Latino/Latinx children account for 75% of the reported cases.

MIS-C is an inflammatory condition associated with COVID-19; symptoms include fever that does not go away and inflamed body parts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Those who believe their child is displaying MIS-C symptoms were advised to contact their primary care or an urgent care provider. Those without a primary care provider can dial 2-1-1 and L.A. County will help connect them to one.

"Today's grim milestone (22,000 deaths) reminds us of the human toll of this pandemic and how actions affect cases, hospitalizations and deaths several weeks from now," Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. "As we move into spring and temperatures in Los Angeles County warm up, many people will be out taking advantage of our beautiful county. I ask you do so responsibly by avoiding large gatherings and crowds, always wearing your mask, and at this time, postponing non-essential travel."

County health officials also said that testing results were available for nearly 5,885,000 people, with 19% testing positive. Saturday's daily test positivity rate is 1.9%.

Health officials on Thursday issued another warning against leisure travel, in light of the upcoming spring break, stressing that anyone who travels out of the area is still required to quarantine for 10 days when they return to Los Angeles County.

"We may just be weeks away from reducing transmission in L.A. County enough so that additional reopenings are permitted," Ferrer said in a statement Thursday. "However, with increased case numbers in other states, and more circulating variants of concern, spring travel can lead to another surge that frankly would be almost impossible to tolerate. Travel increases the risk of getting and spreading COVID-19. To avoid this, please postpone travel and continue doing your part to slow the spread so that our recovery journey isn't sidelined."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.