Doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5 have slowly started to roll out in Los Angeles County, though health officials have warned that shipping delays have limited the availability of pediatric vaccines.
Federal authorities approved doses for children up to 6 months over the weekend. The approval applies to vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
County health officials noted that young children are considered to be at lower risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from COVID-19, but said the risk is higher among unvaccinated children.
They also contend that unvaccinated children are at increased risk of developing Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C.
According to the county, in the past three months, unvaccinated children ages 12 to 17 were nearly four times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID than vaccinated children. Among vaccine-eligible children in the county who contracted confirmed cases of MIS-C, 65% were unvaccinated, officials said.
Some Southern California pharmacies and pediatricians’ offices began offering the doses Tuesday, but availability was limited at many county-run sites.
According to the county Public Health Department, shipping issues were causing the delay, with more widespread availability anticipated for Wednesday.
Ultimately, the county anticipates that the vaccines will be available at more than 900 vaccination sites.
For information on locations and appointment scheduling you can visit the link vaccinatelacounty.com, or in Spanish, vaccinationelosangeles.com.
The county reported another 2,294 COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, bringing the overall total for the entire pandemic to 3,071,314. Health officials noted that while the daily number of cases appears to be leveling off from increases in recent weeks, overall transmission of the virus remains high.
Health officials have said the total number of people being tested for the coronavirus and testing positive is likely much higher than daily reports, as many people rely on home tests, the results of which often go unreported. forward to the county.
“The most important steps we can take is for the entire family to get vaccinated or boosted, if eligible, including the youngest members,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
“Residents should also wear a face covering indoors when around other people, and get tested if they feel sick, have been exposed, or are around other people. If we continue to take these protections, we can protect each other and start to reduce transmission.”
The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus continues to climb, reaching 10.6%. The percentage has been rising due to a drop in the overall number of people getting tested due to schools going on summer break.
The county reported two additional virus-related deaths Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 32,263.
The number of positive COVID-19 patients being treated at county hospitals has soared since the weekend, reaching 671 on Monday before dipping slightly to 664 on Tuesday, according to state figures.
The number of those patients treated in intensive care was 68 as of Tuesday.
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