When the time finally comes for the COVID-19 vaccine to be ready, whether at the end of the year or early next year, Los Angeles County supervisors are saying they want to be ready for it.
On Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors will hear a motion, authored by Supervisor Janice Hahn, on whether to order the L.A. County Department of Public Health to develop a vaccination distribution plan.
“As a county, we want to be well-prepared to receive, store, distribute and administer available vaccines as fairly and equitably as possible with no time wasted,” the motion reads. “Effectively distributing a vaccine to millions of Angelenos will require a robust and comprehensive plan.”
The motion will order the Public Health Department to follow the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control that would include items such as data reporting, preparing for vaccine delivery and storage, and setting up mass vaccination clinics for the general population when more doses of vaccine are available, supply permitting.
“Los Angeles County has around 10.5 million residents and carefully developing an
immunization plan as soon as possible that ensures vaccine allocation is fair, that
targeted groups are reached, and underserved populations disproportionately affected
are justly attended to is critical to have on hand and ready to implement once a vaccine
has been approved and is safe to administer,” reads the motion.
The Public Health Department will be required to develop a vaccination plan and report back to the board in 45 days.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors virtual meeting is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and can be publicly viewed at http://bos.lacounty.gov/Board-Meeting/Live-Broadcast.
