‘Bottleneck and confusion': LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn on California’s COVID vaccine rollout

Dodger Stadium reopened today as a coronavirus vaccine site, with the capacity to vaccinate up to 12,000 people a day. Earlier this week, California announced it would make the COVID-19 vaccine available to everyone 65 and older. But it’s up to individual counties to implement it.

LA County says it can’t even start vaccinating seniors until it’s finished with health care and nursing home workers and residents. They’re nowhere close, and it’s all a logistical nightmare.

“I'm not a big fan of the tier model. I think it's caused a little bit of bottleneck and confusion,” says LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn.

To ensure no doses of the vaccine are going to waste, Hahn proposes what she describes as a standby list. It’d be similar to what you might encounter at an airport if you’re not booked on a specific flight.

“We do know that there have been some instances of unused doses at the end of the day with the Pfizer vaccine,” Hahn says. “So my idea is to have a waitlist of these 65 and older folks, who they can then be called at the end of the day and say, ‘Hey, can you be here in 30 minutes? We're going to get you in.’"