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LA County Expands Vaccine Eligibility To Janitors, Transportation Workers
A bus driver wears a face covering while working at LAX amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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L.A. County is expanding eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines to the following groups:
- custodians and janitors
- public transit workers
- airport ground crew workers
- certain social workers who handle cases of violence and abuse
- foster parents who provide emergency housing for young people
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer says the county is working to make appointments available for people in those groups. There will already be appointments available specifically for custodial and janitorial workers both Saturday and Sunday at the county-run super site at the Forum.
Ferrer continues to urge patience with the pace of vaccinations.
While the county is expanding eligibility to more people, supply still remains limited, which means it may take a while to find an available appointment, she says.
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REOPENING UPDATES
For the first time since the state put its color-coded economic reopening system in place, Los Angeles County is within days of qualifying to leave the most restrictive purple tier and advance into the red tier.
Health officials are currently working on updating their guidance for restaurants, movie theaters, salons, and other businesses, which, under the state's guidelines, would be allowed to reopen at greater capacity in the new phase.
Those guidelines are expected to come out tomorrow.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said today that the state will certify L.A. County's red tier status by Friday.
Ferrer didn't offer any details about what will be in the new health order, but said it could go into effect as early as Sunday:
"We've been here before – if we're not really careful, it can result in an increase in cases. So I am going to urge all the businesses to take a hard look at the directives. We do need everyone to be 100% compliant with them."
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Here are the color-coded tiers for context:
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