Morning Brief: Vaccines For All Angelenos, Changes To The News, And Boycotting The Olympics

Good morning, L.A. It’s April 12.

The city of L.A. has expanded access to the coronavirus vaccine to all residents ages 16 and over a few days ahead of schedule.

Those in that age group were supposed to become eligible on April 15, but in a tweet on Saturday evening, City Councilmember Mike Bonin confirmed that they could begin booking appointments. According to the city’s website, the first of those appointments will be on April 13.

This is the final expansion of the vaccine — it’s currently only approved for people age 16 and over. Trials have begun for children, though, including babies as young as six months. According to Kimberly Shriner, an infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital who spoke with AirTalk recently, results from those trials are likely to become available in the next few months.

Other cities in California have already begun administering vaccines to young people. Long Beach made the shots available to residents ages 16-and-up on April 8, and some parts of San Francisco did the same at the end of last week.

Around the country, a majority of states had opened appointments up to everyone over the age of 16 as of April 9.

Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only shot approved for 16- and 17-year-olds. Others are currently undergoing trials.

Keep reading for more on what’s happening in L.A. today, and stay safe out there.

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What Else You Need To Know Today

• A new California database is aimed at helping policymakers better understand and address homelessness.
• Many media outlets are changing the way they cover mass shootings.
• Police say the sole suspect in the deaths of three young children in Reseda is their mother.
• A boycott of next year’s Olympic Games in China could mean export problems for L.A.

Before You Go … Meet Kristina Wong: Artist, Activist And Food Bank Influencer

Kristina Wong (left) holds up eggplant at World Harvest Food Bank with her friend Jessica Hanna (right). (Courtesy of Somerset New-Stein)

Kristina Wong wears all the hats. She's a comedian, performance artist, community activist and a director. She also runs the Auntie Sewing Squad, and as an elected member of the Koreatown Neighborhood Council, she "votes on things, sits on the Planning and Land Use Management Committee and yells at developers." The lady is busy.

In late 2019, after scanning "haul" videos and posts about people's frugal food shopping trips, Wong fell down a YouTube rabbit hole about people spending only $10 a week on food. She decided to challenge herself and see if, in 2020, she could spend only $50 a month on groceries — an experiment that she would, of course, document on Instagram.

Enter the age of the food bank influencer.

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