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Several deputy district attorneys and public advocates were able to receive doses of the COVD-19 vaccine at a Crenshaw distribution site on Wednesday, despite the county being only supposed to administer the vaccine to healthcare workers, according to two. officials aware of the situation and documents obtained by The Times.
While it is not known exactly how many doses were given, an internal email obtained by The Times confirmed that several public defenders were vaccinated on Wednesday morning. That same email, sent by a supervisor in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, ordered prosecutors to go to a testing site in Crenshaw to receive the vaccine.
A prosecutor also claimed to have received the vaccine alongside several public defender employees in a Facebook post on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office declined to comment. Representatives from the LA County Department of Public Health, Public Defender’s Office, Fire Department and City Hall did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment Thursday and Friday.
The news marks the latest headache for the chaotic vaccine rollout in the county. While healthcare workers are currently the only group eligible to receive vaccinations, a Times reporter saw at least 100 people receiving doses last week without showing proof that they worked in the healthcare industry. Crowds seeking early access to the vaccine have also resulted in long queues at distribution sites.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise, California officials have broadened the range of people eligible to receive the vaccine to those 65 and older this week, but Los Angeles County officials say the vaccine will not be theirs. available until health care workers are vaccinated. It could now be weeks before older residents can receive their first dose.
An official with knowledge of the situation estimated that dozens of public defenders and assistant district attorneys attempted to obtain doses at the Crenshaw Christian Center, which was previously used as a COVID-19 testing site, before firefighters and health workers intervene Wednesday. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity to frankly discuss the matter.
A lawyer from one of the offices visited the Crenshaw site and told staff he worked for the county and “had come into contact with patients with mental health problems”, so they should be eligible to receive the vaccine, according to one of the officials. Soon after, several other lawyers from the public defender’s and district attorney’s offices arrived at the same site and received doses, the official said.
Healthcare workers employed by the Department of Mental Health are currently eligible to receive the vaccine, but lawyers are not, according to county health guidelines.
Later Wednesday morning, a deputy deputy chief prosecutor sent a message to staff informing them that the Crenshaw site was “offering the COVID vaccine to county employees (whom they consider essential workers) with an ID card from the county, ”according to a copy of the email received. by The Times. The email claimed that several public defenders had visited the site and “all came to court vaccinated.”
A deputy district attorney also said in a Facebook post that he had received the vaccine, alongside other “fellow public defenders and prosecutors.” The lawyer did not respond to an email requesting comment.
Concerns about the health risks to people working in the county’s vast justice system have been constant throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. While the court system has taken several steps to limit the number of people in county courts by delaying trials and limiting access to courts, social distancing remains difficult in courtrooms.
A deputy public defender and an interpreter both died after contracting the virus, and there have been at least 250 cases of possible exposures, including cases where defendants and police officers testing positive for the virus have entered homes. Courtrooms, according to a log of coronavirus incidents in courts previously obtained by The Times.
Eric Siddal, vice president of the union representing deputy district attorneys, said there has generally been a lot of confusion about when prosecutors and public defenders would become eligible for the vaccine.
“It’s a new administration and there hasn’t been a lot of communication with the troops on what to do and how to handle these things, so unfortunately it seems like a lot of information is being spread by rumor, without any official declaration from the administration, ”he said.
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