Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom Receives Johnson & Johnson Vaccine In Baldwin Hills

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – On the same day that all Californians age 50 and older became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Gov. Gavin Newsom was himself vaccinated Thursday in Baldwin Hills.

The 53-year-old Newsom received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a mobile site at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Vaccine Satellite Center and then held a news briefing with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, who himself has already been vaccinated.

"We in the state of California have committed to what no other state in the country had, 40% of all our doses over the course of the last few weeks overlaid with an equity frame, an equity index that we're utilizing, census track, neighborhood by neighborhood, zip code by zip code, making a determination that we need to do more and do better," Newsom told reporters.

Beginning Thursday, everyone in California age 50 and older is eligible to get the COVID-19.  In Los Angeles County alone, the new eligibility requirements will mean about 1.4 million more people will qualify.

Beginning April 15, everyone age 16 and older will be eligible.

The eligibility expansion comes as a large batch of Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccines were ruined by a subcontractor because it did not meet quality control standards, CBS News reported Thursday.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CBS This Morning Thursday that about 15 million doses were ruined.

In his briefing Thursday, Newsom emphasized that the public should be confident in getting the Johnson & Johnson shot and that manufacturing problems shouldn't affect California's supply for at least the next two weeks.

Johnson & Johnson said in a statement it was still planning to deliver 100 million doses by the end of June and was "aiming to deliver those doses by the end of May."

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