L.A. Catholic school workers get vaccine
Archdiocese hosts clinic at Loyola Marymount for teachers in most infected areas
In partnership with Loyola Marymount University, the Department of Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles launched a “Closed POD” at the LMU Westchester Campus Vaccine Clinic on Monday, March 8. The clinic for Catholic schools staff will run through Wednesday.
Archdiocese schools were issued 400 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the L.A. County Department of Public Health, the proportional share of the vaccine for non-public schools for the week based on current supply.
According to the Archdiocese, these doses will go to personnel at schools who are serving communities hard
est hit by the outbreak.
Archdiocese officials are also working with federal and state providers to create “pop-up” vaccination clinics and mobile clinics at parishes around the region.
L.A. County is benefiting from its largest-ever shipment of vaccines week. It’s an increase officials hope will continue in coming weeks as more people become eligible for shots and as more businesses and activities reopen, leading to moremingling of residents.
Dr. Paul Simon, the county Department of Public Health’s chief science officer, said las week the county will receive 312,000 doses of vaccine this week, including 53,700 doses of the newly authorized single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Of the allotment, 62% will be used for first doses— reversing a recent trend of most shots being reserved for people in need of their second dose. The county in recent weeks has been receiving between 200,000 and 250,000 doses.
As of Friday, 2,415,460 doses of vaccine have been administered in the county, Simon said. That includes 814,593 second doses, meaning that many people have been fully vaccinated.
The increase in doses is welcome news in a county with increasingly large numbers of residents eligible to receive shots. Roughly 1.7 million essential workers, including teachers, became eligible last week, on top of the health care workers and residents aged 65 and over who were already eligible.
And starting March 15, Simon said the county will adhere to new state guidance that expands eligibility to everyone aged 16 to 64 with an underlying health condition that makes them susceptible to severe illness or death from COVID-19.