Five days ahead of its original planned date, the City of Los Angeles has opened up COVID-19 vaccination appointments for anyone over the age of 16.
On Saturday, the city’s website for COVID-19 vaccine registration showed an option for people 16 and older to book an appointment. Vaccinations for that group at city-run vaccination sites will start on Tuesday.
Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office said, “We continue to receive a limited supply of vaccines, and when we receive greater supply in the weeks ahead, the City will be ready to administer even more vaccines quickly and safely,” the statement read.The Los Angeles COVID-19 vaccine registration site now has an option for people 16+ to be able to simply make an appointment. He also said, “There is no question there is going to be a strong run on vaccines in the first week or two. And we ask people as we always do when there are new categories for patience because there are not going to be enough appointments.”
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday that while COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have continued dropping in the county, the rate of decline has slowed significantly. According to Ferrer, the average number of daily new COVID-19 infections dropped by 82% during the month of February. In March, it dropped by only 42%, and by the end of the March, our case numbers stopped significantly declining altogether,” Ferrer said.
To help continue the decline in cases and eventual deaths, people age 16 and up can get the Pfizer vaccine. However, the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are currently only available to people 18 and older.
There is a possibility that vaccine supplies could shrink as eligibility expands. Be aware that with this expansion of the age group, sites may become congested making it harder to secure an appointment.
This week, L.A. is expected to receive nearly 60,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 56,000 Pfizer shots, and still has about 15,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson in its supply, according to the mayor’s office. In total, officials say city vaccination sites will be able to administer more than 130,000 doses to residents – including about 60,000 first dose appointments and 70,000 second doses – across nine permanent sites and through the city’s Mobile Outreach for Vaccine Equity program.
Statewide eligibility currently allows people 50 and older to get a vaccine appointment.
California residents 16 and older are set to officially become eligible on April 15, but other local municipalities have opted to open it earlier, including Long Beach.
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