LAFD Has Enough COVID-19 Vaccine For Its Firefighters, But Only About Half Volunteer To Get It
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Even though the Los Angeles Fire Department has enough COVID-19 vaccine to inoculate nearly all its personnel, only about half volunteered to receive it, according to officials.
The city announced on Dec. 28 that the LAFD had received 3,200 doses of the Moderna vaccine, enough to vaccinate "virtually everybody" at the agency, Mayor Eric Garcetti said at the time.
At the beginning of the year, the department said they had inoculated 48% of its firefighters.
But as of Monday, only 1,842 of the department's approximately 3,400 firefighters have received the vaccine, officials said.
A survey of 1,400 fire department personnel had shown that 90% of firefighters had planned to sign up for the voluntary vaccinations in late December, Garcetti said. The vaccine was offered to all firefighters over a two-week period.
The first doses of the Moderna vaccine are still available at designated stations for firefighters who want it. Second doses are also being distributed, with 933 firefighters receiving both shots as of Monday, according to Ortiz.