COVID Vaccine

Happy New Year!

I have had many patients emailing and calling to inquire about the COVID vaccine. As of now vaccines are only being administered through long term care facilities, hospitals and hospital clinics.  Walgreens and CVS are providing the first phase of vaccines at long term care facilities.  

Initial distribution outside of long term care facilities and hospitals is currently planned to be through pharmacies based on age, risk and job. Below are the planned phases of distribution. 
Phase 1A

• Healthcare workers
• Long-term care residents

1B Tier One:

• Individuals 75 and older
• Those at risk of exposure at work in the following sectors: education, childcare, emergency services, and food and agriculture

1B Tier Two:

• Individuals 65 -74 years of age
• Those at risk of exposure at work in the following sectors: transportation and logistics; industrial, commercial, residential, and sheltering facilities and services; critical manufacturing
• Congregate settings with outbreak risk: incarcerated and homeless

Phase 1C

• Individuals 50 -64 years of age
• People 16-64 years of age and have an underlying health condition or disability which increases their risk of severe COVID-19
• Those at risk of exposure at work in the following sectors: water and wastewater; defense; energy; chemical and hazardous materials; communications and IT; financial services; government operations / community-based essential functions

Currently approved we have the Pfizer-BioN Tech and Moderna vaccines that must be given 3-4 weeks apart. It is currently unknown when phase 1b will begin.  It will likely not start until March.

Community distribution of the vaccine will be available locally through Albertsons, CVS, Rite-Aid, Target, Walgreens, Costco and Walmart.

While all of the above will be offering the vaccines, Albertsons has a sign up link for current updates: https://www.albertsons.com/pharmacy/covid-19.html  and 
CVS has a scheduling tool that will be used once the vaccine is available outside of phase 1a: https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/get-vaccinated

Lastly, once the vaccine is available outside of phase 1a, Vaccinefinder.org is also a helpful link to locate the vaccine in any community.

For more information please look to official sources such as California for all or the CDC COVID pages for more detailed information.  Details are changing rapidly so please check back with the CDC or ca.gov sites above.  Lastly for anyone that falls into phase 1B or 1C you will be able to schedule your appointment through LA County Public Health at the appropriate time.  Currently, this site only applies to healthcare workers. I have applied to have vaccines for my patients, though this would not likely happen until this summer and higher priority patients will likely be provided the vaccines ahead of that by LA County.

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Best,

Amy 
Amy Savagian, MD