LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – Orange County and the city of Long Beach announced Tuesday that they will immediately begin offering the COVID-19 vaccine to older California residents.
Long Beach health officials say residents over the age of 75 will be able to receive the vaccine starting Saturday, with clinics held weekly for people in that age group.
OC officials have announced that they will immediately start offering vaccines to people aged 65 and over.
“COVID-19 is literally everywhere,” said Dr. Jim Keany of Mission Hospital. “Currently, Orange County has a positive rate of 17% in tests. So, that means that almost one in five people you pass have COVID. ”
Some jurisdictions in Southern California are moving forward with greater availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Dodger Stadium and other locations in the state were exploited to serve as mass vaccination sites.
The news comes as the OC Health Care Agency reported another 28 COVID-19 deaths and 3,258 new cases, increasing the death toll to 2,148 and the total number of cases to 195,685.
The number of hospitalized patients with coronavirus decreased from 2,221 months to 2,200 on Tuesday. The number of patients with intensive care decreased from a record of 544 months to 535.
In a virtual briefing Tuesday, California Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said officials are reviewing new guidance from the federal government, encouraging states to re-evaluate COVID-19 vaccine distribution priorities.
While some reports say some people are hesitant to get vaccinated, others are struggling to get the photos faster. On Monday, the leaders of the International Union of Longshore and Warehouse Union, representatives of workers in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, sent a letter to county health officials and the governor, asking them to become eligible for vaccines at the beginning of Phase 1B.
ILWU said eight union members had died from the virus in early December, and another 54 positive cases were confirmed in the first week of January.
“Due to the hard work of our members, the goods move efficiently through the port complex in the Gulf of San Pedro,” ILWU wrote. “This, in turn, keeps the shelves of grocery stores, goods and personal protective equipment that millions of Americans need, while sheltering in their place or caring for those suffering from the effects of COVID-19. While we are proud to be essential, we refuse to be overlooked as this virus ignites. ”
Despite nearly 2.5 million doses of the vaccine distributed in California, about 784,000 photos have been administered since last weekend, Newsom said Monday.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The city’s news service contributed to this report.)