1st Moderna Vaccines To Be Distributed In SoCal As California Nears Nearly 2 Million COVID-19 Cases

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) – California is fast approaching an alarming milestone, likely just days away from the report of 2 million coronavirus cases.

With the rise in the number of cases comes an increase in the number of hospital admissions, and many Southern California medical facilities report that they are at full capacity. Los Angeles County reports for the first time that more than 6,000 people have been hospitalized for COVID-19.

Still, there seems hope on the horizon, as the region now receives the Moderna vaccine, in addition to the Pfizer vaccine that began distribution earlier this month.

Hospital admissions have increased so much that health care providers are once again making a case for Californians to take precautions against the virus, especially with the holidays ahead.

“Today we are more than 100% of our usual patient volume,” said Greg Adams, President and CEO of Kaiser Permanente. “And of that volume, 52% of our hospital patients are patients diagnosed with COVID.”

Adams added that 16 of Kaiser’s 36 hospitals are more than 100% occupied in their intensive care units.

Other health workers are speaking out about how thin their facilities are, especially because of Thanksgiving gatherings that helped spread the virus. They beg the public not to “share the air”.

“Absolutely nothing could have prepared us for what we have been through in recent months,” said Cecilia Fleming, a nursing manager at Kaiser. “COVID-positive patients come to our emergency room very acutely ill and have to be admitted to our ICU in record numbers.”

They urged people to get creative with the upcoming holidays and find ways to celebrate that don’t violate COVID-19 protocols.

“If we do our part now, next year more of us will be available and alive to share the holiday with,” said Vanessa Walker, an official at Sutter Health. “So we ask you to help us so that we can continue to provide care to everyone who comes in.”

While officials ask the public not to meet with others outside their household during the holiday season, they recognize that many people are likely to gather anyway. Those who do are urged to follow a few guidelines:

Wear a mask

Keep your distance from others and keep doors and windows open for good airflow

Keep it short to minimize the risk of transmission

The Veterans Administration facility in Long Beach began distributing the Moderna vaccine on Monday, giving the first injection to a health worker and veteran.

The facility is 113 VA centers nationwide that receive a limited supply of Moderna shots. That happened when the City of Long Beach reported 14 additional deaths from the virus, the highest daily number in the city since the start of the pandemic.