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First Doses Of Coronavirus Vaccine Could Arrive In LA County As Soon As Next Week

By Megan Nguyen
Published Dec 8, 2020 2:54 PM
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A health care worker in Britain, where the first vaccinations began Tuesday, prepares a dose. (Victoria Jones / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
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Los Angeles County Health Director Barbara Ferrer today said the county expects to get its first supply of a coronavirus vaccine as early as next week.

The first round could be about 84,000 doses, with two doses required to be effective. Health care workers at acute care hospitals will get the vaccine first, but Ferrer told the L.A. County Board of Supervisors that first allocation won't be enough to vaccinate all of those workers in L.A. County.

She said:

"We will be working with all of the health care facilities to make sure that they also have an ability to prioritize by risk of exposure the allocation within their facilities."

Ferrer added that the county hopes to receive a second allocation of vaccines by Dec. 21, with priority to residents and staff at skilled nursing and long-term care facilities.
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The Southern California region, which includes 11 counties, is currently under stay-at-home orders due to a high number of hospitalizations that dropped available ICU beds under the 15% threshold set by state officials.

As of today, the Southern California region has only 10.1% of its ICU beds available.

OVERALL LOOK AT LA COUNTY NUMBERS:

Here's a look at longer-term trends in the county. To see more, visit our California COVID-19 Tracker and choose L.A. County or any other California county that interests you. These numbers are current as of Monday, Dec. 7:

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