COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under age 5 began slowly rolling out in Los Angeles County Tuesday, although health officials warned that due to shipping delays, the pediatric shots weren’t expected to be more widely available until at least Wednesday.
Ultimately, the county anticipates the shots being available at more than 900 vaccination sites.
Federal authorities approved the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for kids as young as 6 months over the weekend.
Some Southland pharmacies and pediatrician offices began administering the doses Tuesday, but availability was limited at many county-run sites. According to the county Department of Public Health, shipping issues were causing the delay, with more widespread availability anticipated by Wednesday.
The county on Tuesday reported another nearly 2,300 COVID infections, raising the overall total from throughout the pandemic to just over 3 million.
Health officials have said that the overall number of people testing positive is likely much higher than the daily reports, since many people are relying on at-home tests, the results of which are often not relayed to the county.
The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus reached 10.6 percent. The percentage has been rising because of a drop in the overall number of people getting tested caused by schools going on summer break.
