LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – Orange County and the City of Long Beach both announced on Tuesday that they will immediately begin offering the COVID-19 vaccine to elderly California residents.
Long Beach health officials said residents 75 and older can receive the vaccine starting Saturday, with weekly clinics for people in that age group.
AAC officials announced that they will immediately start offering vaccines to people 65 and older.
“COVID-19 is literally everywhere,” says Dr. Jim Keany from Mission Hospital. Right now, Orange County has a positive 17 percent rate on the tests. So that means that almost one in five people you pass has COVID. “
Some Southern California jurisdictions are moving forward with more availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Dodger Stadium and other locations around the state have been drained to serve as massive vaccination sites.
The news comes as the OC Health Care Agency reported 28 more COVID-19 fatalities and 3,258 new cases, bringing the death toll to 2,148 and the cumulative number of cases to 195,685.
The number of patients admitted to hospital with the coronavirus decreased slightly from 2,221 Monday to 2,200 Tuesday. The number of IC patients dropped from a record number of 544 on Monday to 535.
In a virtual briefing Tuesday, California health secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, that officials are reviewing new federal government guidelines and encouraging states to re-evaluate priorities for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations.
While some reports said that some people are hesitant to get vaccinated, others are trying to get the photos faster. On Monday, local leaders of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union representing workers in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach sent a letter to county health officials and the governor requesting eligibility at the beginning of Phase 1B to come for vaccines.
ILWU claimed that eight union members have died from the virus since the beginning of December, and 54 more positive cases were confirmed among workers in the first week of January.
“It is thanks to the hard work of our members that cargo moves efficiently through the San Pedro Bay Port Complex,” wrote ILWU. “This keeps the store shelves filled with the food, goods and personal protective equipment that millions of Americans need when providing shelter or care for those suffering from the effects of COVID-19. While we pride ourselves on being essential, we refuse to be overlooked as this virus rages on. “
Despite nearly 2.5 million vaccine doses being distributed to California, about 784,000 injections had been administered last weekend, Newsom said Monday.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)