Replies(42) A Rose River Memorial tribute installation for the 400,000 deceased U.S. victims of the COVID-19 pandemic is seen at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on January 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA Seniors 65 and older became eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations this week in Los Angeles County, opening a window of hope to the most vulnerable residents enduring one of the nation s worst outbreaks. The decision to immediately innoculate seniors, an abrupt reversal from plans to wait until healthcare providers have been vaccinated in Los Angeles, comes as a newly identified strain of COVID-19 spreads rapidly across the region. The strain, identified by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center officials Monday, has infected about a third of the hospital s patients and a quarter of all Southlanders who test positive for coronavirus of late.
Dodger Stadium is now operating as one of the nation s largest covid-19 vaccination sites. Currently, only healthcare workers and residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities are eligible to receive the shots, but some worry about a vaccine shortage.
The state opened vaccine eligibility to people 65 and older earlier in the month, but L.A. County is lagging behind other Southern California counties in opening up vaccinations to that group.
County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer last week said the county would not offer vaccines to people 65 and older until vaccinations of front-line health care workers were completed. That process was expected to last until the end of the month.