LA County aims to open COVID-19 vaccinations to residents 65 and older in early February

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – The race to deliver more coronavirus vaccines to Los Angeles County is starting more slowly, as questions remain as to when and how many more vaccines will arrive from the federal government.

LA County lags behind other counties in Southern California when it comes to opening vaccinations to people 65 and over, but county health officials say their goal is to start offering the vaccine to this age group in early February – a goal they say depends on the vaccine. supply.

Currently, LA County only offers the vaccine to healthcare workers and qualified residents and nursing facility staff, despite the state opening eligibility to residents 65 and older. County officials say they do not yet have adequate doses locally to begin opening up vaccinations to residents of this age group.

RELATED: CA Allowing Residents 65 Years and Over to Get Rare COVID-19 Vaccines

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

There are reports that states may not receive their scheduled vaccine shipments from the national reserve next week because the federal reserve of doses has already been depleted. Gov. Gavin Newsom said California has already received 3 million doses and more are expected to come from the federal government.

Newsom says California is planning to receive hundreds of thousands of doses and is still trying to get answers from the Trump administration and is working with the new Biden administration to get answers on when it might. receive more vaccines.

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

RELATED: Officials Warn of Ongoing COVID-19 Outbreaks at These LA County Businesses

The new sites will begin immunizations on Tuesday and will be able to immunize 4,000 people per day at each site. The county hopes 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 Inglewood Forum

– Cal State University at Northridge

– LA County Office of Education in Downey

– Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia

Meanwhile, local leaders, such as LA City Council Chairman Nury Martinez, are urging the creation of a waiting list for people 65 and older as well as those on the front lines as as workers essential to immunize more people faster.