Distributing COVID-19 Vaccine in L.A. County Shaping Up as Herculean Task
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Distributing the COVID-19 vaccines now being developed is shaping up to be the largest and most complex public health effort in L.A. County's history, and concerns are growing that officials are already falling behind, it was reported today.
The scientists have designed the vaccine. Now, government bureaucrats must figure out how to quickly and fairly distribute the lifesaving COVID-19 medication. For Los Angeles County, this effort has already included acquiring 16 ultra-cold storage freezers to be installed across the region, the Los Angeles Times reported this morning. The freezers can store tens of thousands of doses at temperatures as low as minus 86 degrees Celsius.
But the bigger question involves where the vaccine will go from there. The county has already struggled with another essential element of the pandemic response: providing widescale coronavirus testing, and distributing the vaccine in a safe and equitable manner is an even more vital task. Some officials have already expressed their concerns, The Times reported.
County Supervisor Janice Hahn recently called the county's preliminary plans “too vague.” She said they failed to address key logistical issues, such as how the county would store the Pfizer vaccine, which must be kept at minus 70 C. Supervisor Sheila Kuehl wondered how logistically the county would keep doses of the vaccine cold enough to transport.
And Supervisor Hilda Solis wanted to see more explanation for how the county would equitably dole out the vaccine and ensure that communities of color have ample access.
“I'm just going to implore you ... to really be ready,” Hahn told Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer at a recent board meeting. “I just don't think we can afford some lag time in knowing how we're going to distribute this vaccine.”
“We'll be ready,” Ferrer said, according to The Times. “I promise.”
Cedars Sinai Medical Center was one of a handful of healthcare facilities designated by the state to receive early vaccine shipments because of its cold-storage capacity.
For now, the county is formulating a priority list for getting the vaccines, which will be free to any resident who gets vaccinated. First in line will be healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Essential workers at high risk of contracting the coronavirus would be among the next most likely candidates, based off preliminary guidance from state and federal officials, according to The Times.
Nursing home residents and employees will also likely be a priority population in the early phases of the vaccine's rollout. People with serious medical conditions, including cancer, chronic kidney disease, serious lung disease and sickle cell disease, and residents 65 and older are also included in the county's preliminary plan as key populations to vaccinate.
For others, the wait could take months, according to The Times.
Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, Los Angeles County chief medical officer, said a 35-year-old with no health risks who isn't an essential worker probably won't be able to get a vaccine until at least spring of next year.
“I could be wrong — maybe more vaccine will be available, and it could very well be that people don't want to take the vaccine, so we might expand it to other groups if we have more supply,” Gunzenhauser said. “There's a lot of unknowns, so this really is guesswork.”
Eventually, the vaccine will be widely available to any resident, but county officials are still grappling with how to make them most accessible.
Hahn would like to see the county use schools as distribution sites, an idea that L.A. Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner supports, The Times reported. Solis has asked public health officials to explore using libraries, senior centers and clinics in underserved communities. The county has also considered expanding current COVID-19 testing sites to offer vaccination as well.
Some of the first doses of vaccine are expected to be stored at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, The Times reported. The hospital was one of a handful of healthcare facilities designated by the state to receive early vaccine shipments because of its cold-storage capacity, the county public health department said. About 20 L.A. County hospitals applied, Gunzenhauser said.
It's not yet clear how much vaccine California or L.A. County will receive.
Top Image: A medical worker wearing gloves fills up a needle with a vaccine. | iStock via Getty Images