COVID-19 vaccine slow to reach L.A. County communities hit hard by pandemic

Dr. Jerry P. Abraham administers a Covid-19 vaccination to a senior citizen in a vaccination tent at the Kedren Community Health Center on January 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.(Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Feb 9, 2021 / 04:33 PM PST

Updated: Feb 9, 2021 / 04:33 PM PST

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With COVID-19 vaccine still in short supply, state and local officials vowed Tuesday to make improvements to ensure doses are delivered equitably and that California’s hardest-hit, harder-to-reach communities aren’t left behind.

Recent data released by L.A. County showed that Black, Latino and Native American seniors were receiving COVID-19 vaccinations at a lower rate than white, Asian American and Pacific Islander seniors in the county.

“We have a lot of work to do to fix this,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, “because however way you cut this data, it’s clear that in some of our hardest-hit communities, there are populations that are not getting vaccinated at the same rate as other groups.”

Overall, only 7% of Black residents age 65 and over have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to county figures presented Monday. About 9% of Native American seniors and 14% of Latino seniors have received at least one dose — compared with 17% of white senior residents, 18% of Asian American and 29% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander seniors.

Read the full story at LATimes.com.