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LA Vaccine Update: We Still Need More Doses
People line up for their Covid-19 test at a mobile pop-up test site in Los Angeles, California on December 3, 2020. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
For a second week in a row, L.A. County is reserving most of its COVID-19 vaccine appointments for people who need their second shot.
Few slots will open up next week for those looking to get their first dose, as dwindling supplies of the vaccine forced large sites run by the city of Los Angeles to shut down on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the state plans to open up the vaccine pool to people with certain health conditions next month, and local officials are also gearing up to vaccinate more essential workers in the next two to three weeks.
L.A. County received over 219,000 doses this week, a slight increase compared to previous weekly allotments.
But Dr. Paul Simon, the chief science officer for the public health department, says they'll need to see larger allotments in the future to meet demand:
"We're going to have to spend some time to think about what the implications are for our planning, but it certainly means that there is even more urgency to getting a greater supply of vaccine."
Over 1.3 million doses have been administered countywide, though less than a quarter (22%) of those doses were used for second shots.
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