Los Angeles County to Prioritize Secondary Vaccine Doses Next Week Against Supply Deficit

NORTHRIDGE, California (KABC) – There are five larger capacities in the five super vaccination sites in Los Angeles County than there are vaccines to circulate. Starting Tuesday, the county will change its priorities from vaccinations for the first dose to people who need a second dose.

The change is for people who have received the first dose of Pfizer vaccine and need a second dose after 21 days, said Manuel Martinez of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The state is struggling to get more doses to inoculate Californians who want one. For now, health workers, those living in nursing homes and anyone over the age of 65 are eligible.

Mel Valladares managed to get his parents the first vaccine at the Cal State Northridge website after making an online appointment.

“I had a bit of a problem with the first website, but the second site, my turn, is very good. They like the service, it’s fast and easy. Come on, wait 15 minutes and we’re done,” he said.

What are the side-effects of COVID vaccine? See our FAQ

In East LA, people waited in line Saturday in front of Monsignor Oscar A. Romero’s Clinic, which received 100 doses of Moderna vaccine. An astonishing 40% of the clinic’s patients gave positive results for COVID-19, compared to the county’s positivity rate of 16.5%.

“A lot of undocumented people, a lot of essential workers come to the Romero Clinic and they are the ones who die,” Carlos Vaquerano told the clinic.

Despite the impending vaccine shortage, state and local health officials hope the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine will receive emergency use authorization from the FDA. Otherwise, it could help increase distribution and speed up the vaccination process.

For now, those who received the first doses of the vaccine are beginning to plan for a better future.

“I hope to meet my friends I haven’t seen in a year and maybe if that means just wearing masks and being (physically) distant, but at least maybe now we’ll feel a little safer seeing each other face to face, although we all know that we still have to be careful, “said Candy Miyamura, who also received the shot at CSUN.

Once the vaccines are fully available, super-sites like the one in Northridge will be able to vaccinate up to 4,000 a day.

Experts dispel false information, myths about the COVID-19 vaccine