How long will it take for LA County to reach collective immunity?

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – Los Angeles County is now eligible to move to a less restrictive level on the state’s color-coded reopening system, but it will wait until Monday to make the move and some rules will be more stringent than state guidelines.

As the county braces for further reopenings, vaccine shortages remain an issue. But county health officials say that while it can average around 500,000 doses per week, it will only take 12 weeks to get 80% of people 16 and older vaccinated – a threshold according to Dr Anthony Fauci is needed for collective immunity against the virus.

LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Wednesday expressed confidence that vaccine supplies will continue to improve, with the county forecasting that a total of 700,000 doses per week will be shipped to County of ‘by the end of April.

“If LA County receives an average of 576,000 doses per week, as of April we can expect to achieve 80% immunization coverage for people 16 years and older in just another 12 weeks,” said Ferrer. “Reaching such a milestone is possible with increased allocations, and it will drastically change the trajectory of the pandemic here in LA County.”

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This week, however, Ferrer discussed that demand exceeded supply.

“As the number of doses we have received has increased, the lack of supply remains our biggest obstacle as the county could easily have booked almost 300,000 more appointments this week, but we did not have it. done because we didn’t have enough vaccines, ”Ferrer told me.

Ferrer said that although LA County residents 50 or older will be eligible for vaccines starting Thursday, there won’t be enough vaccines for everyone.

Meanwhile, as the county gradually relaxes its COVID-19 security protocols, the doors to the Natural History Museum will open to the public Thursday with limited capacity, and the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum will reopen next Thursday.

The orange upgrade means more capacity in retail stores, cinemas, restaurants and other attractions, along with a range of other adjustments, including the reopening – outdoors only – of bars that don’t. not serve food.

Ferrer said a revised order from the health official will be issued on Friday so business owners are aware of any new guidelines and have the weekend to adjust their operations accordingly. While the county largely aligns with state guidelines for the orange level, it will have more stringent requirements.

Specifically, bars will be limited to serving outdoor tables only, operating only from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a required distance of 8 feet between outdoor tables. Although state guidelines allow all capacity restrictions on retail establishments in the Orange level to be lifted, Los Angeles County will impose a 75% limit on grocery stores and other retail operations. , while recommending “strongly” to remain at 50% of their capacity until April 15 to allow time for more workers to be vaccinated.

In accordance with state guidelines, the county will increase the capacity limit from 25% to 50% for movie theaters, churches, museums, zoos, aquariums and restaurants. The capacity of the fitness center will increase from 10% to 25%. Card rooms and family entertainment centers can resume indoor operations at 25% capacity.

Breweries and wineries will be able to provide indoor service at 25% capacity. Breweries, wineries and bars will all be allowed to turn on their TVs outdoors, but live entertainment remains prohibited.

It’s unclear whether the county will continue to ban restaurants from turning on their TVs – a requirement imposed to prevent gatherings of sports fans.

City News Service contributed to this report.