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A Look At Where Vaccinations Stand In LA County — And the Problem With Line Cutters
Healthcare workers get vaccinated for COVID-19 at the Martin Luther King Jr Community Hospital. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)
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Health officials say nearly 11% of people in Los Angeles County over the age of 16 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. But far fewer are fully vaccinated at this point — only about 2.6% of the county's population have gotten both shots.
That all adds up to a little over one million doses administered so far. Even though the county received a shipment of nearly 185,000 doses this week — one of its largest allotments from the federal government to date — nearly all vaccination appointments next week will be for people eligible for their second shot.
(Courtesy L.A. County Public Health)
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But officials are concerned that some people are taking advantage of a loophole in the appointment system to cut in line. Dr. Paul Simon is the chief science officer for the L.A. County Public Health Department. He says people who get their first shot at a county site will get an email to reserve a spot for their second dose - but some people are sharing that link with others, who turn around and try to use it to book an appointment for themselves.
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"In some cases, it was done very deliberately. I think you could characterize it as cheating, and in other cases I think people just weren't necessarily viewing it that way - they were just looking at every opportunity to get vaccinated."
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