Close to 7 million vaccine doses have been administered in LA County but still far from reaching herd immunity

75756A5E-120A-4932-810C-2FD980DB785E

Close to 7 million vaccine doses have been administered in LA County but we're still far from reaching herd immunity.

It's unclear what percentage of the population needs to be immune to make spread unlikely.

Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer says "We're using 80% of people who are eligible to be vaccinated will need to get vaccinated for us to get herd immunity."

It's estimated there are more than 8.3 million people in the county who are 16 and older.

Eighty percent is close to 6.7 million.

The number of fully vaccinated people in the county isn't even half that.

And there are signs that demand for shots is waning.

Ferrer says "many" sites are not filling appointments as quickly as they used to.

"For those of you who feel scared of getting vaccinated, because of the very small chance of a serious side effect, think about the other things that we do where you also have a small chance of a bad outcome," she says.

Ferrer says you probably wouldn't skip an all-expenses paid vacation because of the tiny risk of dying in a car accident on the way.

Likewise, with vaccinations, the payoff is worth the tiny risk to get us back to normal.

Featured Image Photo Credit: A resident of Koreatown receives a COVID-19 vaccination dose outside the Karsh Family Social Service Center on March 18, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The Annenberg Foundation event targeted older residents as only 42 percent of Koreatown residents aged 65 and up had received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine compared with 75 percent of older adults in more affluent communities of Los Angeles. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)