LA County Supervisor Leads Public Health to Open COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments to Older Residents – CBS Los Angeles

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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Hilda L. Solis, chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, signed an executive order on Monday directing the LA County Department of Public Health to make COVID-19 vaccine appointments available to residents aged 65 starting Thursday and older.

“In recent weeks, the County of Los Angeles has been administering the vaccine to primary care health workers so they can remain safe while doing the important work of saving lives, and residents and staff in skilled nursing homes and long-term care. facilities, ”Solis said in an emailed statement. “The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has been a huge undertaking, especially during an unprecedented boom as cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise.

“However, if we are ever to get out of this dark winter, it is critical that we make progress in vaccinating people 65 and older as soon as possible – in line with Governor Gavin Newsom’s recommendations,” the statement continued.

RELATED: LA County Reports 9,927 New COVID-19 Cases, 88 Deaths

Solis said she gave the health department until Thursday to start opening appointments for over-65s until Thursday, so that they “could properly prepare for the rollout.”

But hours earlier, Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, the county’s chief medical officer, said the county was not yet on the point of moving forward with vaccinating seniors.

“If we see by the end of the week that the pace of the rise by health workers is slowing, suggesting that we need to move to what is called Phase 1B, especially Tier 1 for the elderly, we will do that pretty soon,” he said.

The move comes when Cedars-Sinai researchers announced that a new local species, called Cal.20C, may be contributing to the rise and has been found in more than a third of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles.

Gunzenhauser said the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has been monitoring that, along with a number of other mutations – including one first discovered in the United Kingdom.

“We’re concerned that if that happens, you know, comes up and it causes a lot of transmission, we could see a big wave in February or March,” he said.

Public Health has not yet released a statement about the executive order, which can be viewed online, but has previously said it slowed the rollout for older residents, citing vaccine shortages because it worked to get healthcare and frontline workers vaccinated first.

The department will host a virtual COVID-19 town hall for vaccination on Wednesday.

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