In the coming weeks, Los Angeles County’s supply of COVID-19 vaccine will tighten because of an expected shortage of shots manufactured by Johnson & Johnson — just as people with underlying health conditions become eligible for inoculations.
“The next two weeks, we’re not going to get any Johnson & Johnson [vaccine doses]. That’s a manufacturing production issue,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Tuesday, warning that the vaccine supply in March will be tight.
California is still finalizing the list of medical conditions that will qualify people under 65 for the COVID-19 shot starting on Monday, Ferrer said.
A state bulletin last month said that starting March 15 healthcare providers can use their judgment to vaccinate people ages 16 to 64 deemed to be at high risk for severe illness or death from COVID-19 because of health conditions like cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic pulmonary disease, a compromised immune system as a result of an organ transplant, Down syndrome, pregnancy, sickle cell disease, heart conditions, severe obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
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