Vaccinations are in store for the entire South L.A. population if the staff of Kedren Health Center has their way. The organization vaccinated more than 500 people on April 10 at a mobile clinic stationed at First AME Church of Los Angeles.
COVID-19 cases continue to decline but the public is still being asked to remain vigilant and responsible.
At the end of the MLK holiday and Presidential Inauguration, some good news was waiting as the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has seen a decrease in COVID-19 positivity. At the end of last week, there was a decrease by 30 percent in a seven-day average of daily cases. Despite this, public health officials are still urging the public to continue with proactive measures: wear a face covering and maintain physical distance when venturing outside the house.
The lack of a comprehensive national plan has greatly contributed to a bottleneck in administering the vaccine
In California, more than 300,000 children under age 17 have been infected with the coronavirus since last March.
As of Monday, January 11, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed 137 new deaths and new cases 12,617 of COVID-19. There were 7,910 people with COVID-19 hospitalized with 22% of these people in the ICU. According to the L.A. County Dept. of Public Health, statistics show that L.A County has gone from an average of 791 people hospitalized two months ago to about 8,000 patients, an increase of 1,000%.
Assemblymember Mike Gipson introduced CEO of Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, Dr. Elaine Batchlor, MD, MPH, and Vice President of Population Health at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital (MLKCH), Dr. Jorge Reyno, MD, whom both shared new data regarding pandemic and their recommendations on getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
Health officials have stated January may be the worst we’ve seen of the pandemic.
As we edge out of the holiday season and into a new year, Los Angeles County is still riding the COVID-19 surge and health officials are still calling for the public to do its part. Health officials have stated we may see another surge in a few weeks if the public disregarded safety protocols during the Christmas holiday.
Now that both Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized by the FDA and are beginning to roll out, hesitancy is growing among Americans about receiving them.
Public health officials urge everyone to stay home for Christmas as a second vaccine comes to battle COVID-19.
Once the vaccines arrive in California, they will be sent to hospitals and other facilities that can store them at around minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit.