Unexpected first doses of vaccines available in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (KABC) – While Los Angeles County officials had warned that most of the larger vaccination sites this week would focus on administering second doses, Dodger Stadium had first additional doses available Tuesday. .

The Los Angeles Fire Department said there were about 7,000 appointments available as of 1 p.m.

More than a million doses of vaccine have already been administered in Los Angeles County.
The county expects to receive 218,000 more doses this week, according to the county’s health director, Dr. Barbara Ferrer. Approximately 55% will get vaccines in the second dose.

RELATED: Los Angeles County is facing an unpredictable supply of vaccines

It seems that some of the confusion comes from county officials referring to the fact that the first dose shortage is only in places managed by the county itself, while other places like Dodger Stadium are run by the city of Los Angeles. At county-administered sites, Los Angeles County Public Health says people looking for the first dose should wait this week, so they have enough vaccines to provide the second.

But health officials say a disturbing number of black residents have received the vaccine, prompting new outreach efforts.

In southern Los Angeles, a four-day mobile vaccination center was created for health workers and residents over the age of 65.

“Sometimes people don’t have a car, a way to get to the vaccination sites, so we’re going to look for people,” Los Angeles Councilman Curren Price said. “We want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to assure them that there’s help along the way, that they can get the vaccine and that we can get back to a normal life.”

Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom is officially opening another vaccination site, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The site is expected to increase to 15,000 vaccines a day.

Still, Newsom stresses the importance of continuing to maintain safety protocols because health officials have found three serious mutations in COVID-19 in California, with more than 1,200 known cases.

In Los Angeles, City Councilman Joe Buscaino has filed a motion to dedicate a week to Dodger Stadium to help vaccinate more teachers and get them back to the classrooms. Buscaino says he spoke with LAUSD superintendent Austin Beutner.

The motion asks the city attorney to examine all legal options to help reopen schools safely for in-person instruction.

Newsom says he believes schools can safely reopen before employees are vaccinated, and it is critical to reopen schools this year for younger students.

However, teachers ’unions argue that unless the vaccine has been offered to teachers, it should not be returned to them.