LA to shut down Covid vaccination sites as supplies run low

Only 16,000 new doses received this week, while city often uses 13,000 in a day

Drivers with a vaccine appointment enter the vaccination site at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on January 30, 2021. AP

Los Angeles is temporarily closing five mass vaccination sites, including Dodger Stadium, owing to a lack of supply as the state faces criticism over a vaccine distribution programme a politician called "nothing short of chaotic".

On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city would exhaust its supply of first doses of the Moderna drug – two are required for full immunisation – by Thursday, forcing it to close drive-through and walk-up vaccination sites on Friday and Saturday that handle thousands of shots daily.

They may not reopen until the city receives more supplies, which could be next Tuesday or Wednesday, although smaller mobile vaccination clinics will continue their work, he said.

Los Angeles, which has 10 million residents, received only 16,000 new doses this week, while it uses about 13,000 doses in a typical day, Mr Garcetti said.

“As soon as we receive more supply, and I hope that we get it, I’d love a call tonight or tomorrow from some source at the state or national level saying we found some more,” Mr Garcetti said.

The announcement came as some counties said California's system of parcelling out vaccines undercounts the number of injections they have administered, potentially crimping efforts to stem the coronavirus outbreak by immunising the majority of the state's 40 million residents.

Broadly, the state is making progress on controlling the virus.

Fewer than 5 per cent of people tested are now returning positive results, and daily confirmed infection cases are down to about 8,400 from a high of more than 50,000 a month ago, Governor Gavin Newsom said.