LA Veterans Affairs Receiving COVID-19 Vaccines This Week
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Healthcare workers and residents in the Los Angeles Veterans Affairs system will likely begin getting COVID-19 vaccinations this week.
The Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) is one of 37 VA sites nationwide that are receiving doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday published its vaccine distribution plan. Under the plan, those living in the VA's long term care facilities and frontline healthcare personnel will be the first to receive vaccinations.
The VA began vaccinating workers and residents at its medical centers in New Orleans and Bedford, Mass., on Monday.
The West L.A. VA Medical Center is the largest facility in the VAGLAHS, whose service area covers L.A., Ventura, Kern, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties.
It's unclear how many doses of the vaccine the VAGLAHS was expected to receive.
The 37 VA sites "were chosen for their ability to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccines at extremely cold temperatures," the agency said in a news release.
RELATED: Cedars-Sinai Receives Its First COVID-19 Vaccines Tuesday, Orange County Hospitals On Wednesday
L.A. County as a whole was estimated to receive about 83,000 doses of the vaccine this week, with the initial doses distributed to 83 acute-care hospitals for administration to critical frontline workers.
Nurses at Kaiser Permanente L.A. Medical Center were the first people in Southern California to receive the vaccine Monday afternoon.
