LA County Officials Consider Extending Hours At Vaccine Sites
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Los Angeles County officials are considering extending hours at vaccine sites to accommodate essential workers and vaccinate more residents.
Supervisor Hilda Solis authored a motion calling for extended hours.
"We are at a critical point in the vaccine roll-out where it is imperative that we develop and implement systems to best assist vulnerable populations in gaining access to life-saving COVID vaccines," Solis said.
According to Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, the county already has the capacity to deliver roughly 200,000 more doses a week than it has available through its allotment.
To date, the county has deployed nearly 2.5 million vaccine doses.
Starting next week, individuals with serious underlying health conditions will be able to get vaccinated.
As supplies ramp up, however, Solis said the county may need to be flexible to reach everyone.
"We must ensure that all people in the county, regardless of race, creed or immigration status, get vaccinated if we are to ever achieve a truly healthy county," Solis said. "This means providing COVID-19 vaccines at hours when essential workers and others can get to the clinics, be it early morning or overnight."
The board directed the departments of Public Health and Health Services to coordinate with labor partners and assess the need for longer hours and the cost of operating sites overnight.
A report is expected back in 21 days.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
