Pasadena begins offering COVID-19 vaccine to city residents 75 and over, but supplies are limited

Pasadena has joined Long Beach as Los Angeles County cities that have expanded coronavirus vaccinations to senior citizens who are not living in nursing facilities.

Pasadena on Saturday offered sign-ups to city residents age 75 and older who had filled out a form expressing interest in getting the vaccine. Reservations filled up within two hours for the roughly 800 doses that will be available Tuesday and an additional 1,000 to be administered on Thursday at Victory Park.

City officials said they confirmed on Saturday that they would receive enough doses this week to finish the remainder of their top-priority medical workers and begin inoculating seniors. Additional help from local hospitals and area pharmacies, which have been receiving their own shipments of the vaccine, has relieved some of the pressure.

Officials have also been reaching out to elder care facilities and older residents who might not be familiar with the online registration process. They’re working on establishing a larger mass-vaccination site, perhaps at the Rose Bowl, and hope to extend the age range to people 65 and older as soon as possible.

“It’s all contingent upon how much vaccine we get from the state,” city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. “We have the infrastructure to support the rollout. We just need the vaccine.”

In most of L.A. County, the vaccine is still available only to healthcare workers, first responders, and residents and staff in skilled nursing facilities. But Pasadena and Long Beach have their own health departments and have been taking their own actions.

On Friday, Long Beach announced it had moved on to its next phase of vaccinations, with Mayor Robert Garcia and other critical city employees being inoculated.

Police officers in Long Beach and city residents 65 and older are now also eligible for the vaccine. The city expanded its rollout after vaccinating roughly 15,000 healthcare workers and residents of long-term-care facilities, Garcia said in a news release.

Long Beach will also begin opening vaccine clinics to grocery workers and educators this week.