L.A. County to hit COVID-19 herd immunity by end of July - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles County could reach herd immunity from the coronavirus among adults and the oldest teenagers by mid- to late July, another milestone that underscores the region’s rapid recovery from the pandemic.

With about 400,000 shots administered weekly, the county has about 2 million first doses to go before 80% of all residents 16 and older will have received at least one shot, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a news briefing Monday.

“At the rate we’re going, we expect that we can reach this level somewhere in mid- to late July, and that assumes that we continue to have at least 400,000 people vaccinated each week that will include both first doses that people need, as well as their second doses,” Ferrer said.

County for herd immunity is a guess, “but we do assume it’s probably somewhere around 80%.”.

More than 3 million people have received at least one vaccine dose, Ferrer said, and 84% of those have received their second dose on time (7% received their second doses late, and 9% have not received their second dose).

Many are concentrated in areas with lower levels of community health, which have been hit hard by the pandemic, Ferrer said.

“We want to make it super easy to get a vaccine if you live in these communities,” she said, noting that 185 mobile vaccination teams are also working to reach people who may have limited ability or time to get to one of the established vaccination sites.

County is also increasing its capacity to bring vaccine clinics to workplaces, and people will soon be able to request the county to come to their worksite to administer vaccines.

“The strategy right now is to pop up wherever people are already gathering,” Ferrer said, adding that people can visit VaccinateLACounty.com or call (833) 540-0473 to find a nearby site.

County had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, about 59% of this population.

County’s goal of getting 80% of adults and the older teens vaccinated doesn’t account for vaccinating adolescents 12 to 15 — who on Monday became eligible to be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine — nor younger children.

But the 80% goal among those eligible for the vaccine is a reasonable guess for reaching herd immunity, Ferrer said.

After all, while children do get sick from COVID-19 and can transmit the virus, “children tend to be not as efficient spreaders as older teens and as adults are,” Ferrer said.

County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.

County will still need to confront disparities among certain demographics who have been less likely to get vaccinated: Latino and Black residents, young people and men.

Among the county’s adults and older teens, 60% of white, 68% of Asian American and 58% of Native American residents have received at least one dose of vaccine.

The majority of adults in their 30s and older have received one shot, but among the youngest adults — up to age 29 — only 45% have received at least one dose of vaccine, and among 16- and 17-year-olds, only 34% have gotten at least one shot

County have received at least one vaccine dose, only 56% of men have

County Supervisor Hilda Solis said the county is working to improve access to the vaccine and is considering ideas such as hosting vaccine clinics in sports venues where young people are already going

Ferrer said she was working Saturday at the vaccine site at Eugene A

And in Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city’s Mobile Outreach for Vaccine Equity program — which operates its own mobile vaccine clinics and is run by the mayor’s office and Fire Department — has administered more than 100,000 doses in neighborhoods hard hit by COVID-19

Overall, 90% of first doses administered by the city’s mobile vaccine clinics have gone to people of color, with about two-thirds of them going to Latino residents

In the Bay Area, Santa Clara County this week plans to host three nights of “student vaccination nights” at Levi’s Stadium, where the 49ers play, providing drop-in vaccine clinics for students 16 to 19 and their families