Los Angeles County officials announced on Monday that, as of May 21, 50% of L.A. County residents 16 and over had been fully vaccinated. Given that data is three days old, it’s safe to assume the current number is over 50%. Fully 72% of seniors 65 and older in the region were fully vaccinated by Friday.
Also encouraging is that, while they have only been eligible since April 15, 28% of teens 16-17 years old are now fully inoculated against the virus. Kids 12-15 years old became eligible for vaccination with the Pfizer shot about 10 days ago. The county did not release numbers for that group.
50% of L.A. County Residents 16 and Over are Fully Vaccinated; Free Roundtrip Rides to Vaccination Sites. 4 New Deaths and 139 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County. View https://t.co/UkPySRINh5 pic.twitter.com/AfHtJkzqyz
— LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) May 24, 2021
Earlier this month, L.A.’s top health official said that if the county can maintain its pace of administering about 400,000 doses per week, “herd immunity” could be achieved by mid- to late- July. Health officials are estimating that 80% of county residents will need to get vaccinated to reach that point. A previous estimate from L.A. officials had estimated so-called “community immunity” by the end of June. But demand for the vaccine has tailed off — both in the county and statewide — in recent weeks, and health officials have placed less emphasis on meeting one overall number than simply getting shots in arms.
As of May 21, more than 9,501,064 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of these, 5,520,397 were first doses and 3,980,667 were second doses.