Schools can be used as COVID-19 vaccine centers under new state guidelines, but they’ll have to apply to health authorities for the role — and the more pressing issue is the shortage of doses, not the lack of inoculation sites.

The ability to use campuses for vaccinations has been the subject of an assertive push by local school officials, especially Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner, who made the issue a central focus of a briefing this week.

“We welcome the interest from schools,” the health department said this week in written responses to questions from The Times. The department also noted that there would be challenges to setting up campuses for this purpose, including proper storage of the vaccines in regular or ultra-cold freezers, depending on the vaccine, and the chain of documentation.

“The complexity of issues including cold-chain requirements and the significant documentation requirements with the state database platform means it might not be ideal for all districts,” the department said. “Districts with already operating vaccination programs would have an easier time adopting and implementing these requirements.”

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