A.M. Brief: Millions Fewer J&J Doses Arriving in California Next Week

A big drop in shipments from J&J. A new database that helps understand the scope of homeless services. A survey of vaccination data shows hesitancy persists among seniors in certain areas. This is Thursday. This is your news brief. Take it!

Morning News Rundown

Even as eligibility is about to expand and efforts to ramp up vaccinations continue, California is about to receive significantly fewer quantities of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Next week, the feds will ship 785,500 doses of J&J to California, a 90% drop from the previous allocation. The rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been hampered at times by production delays, including a mistake at a Baltimore manufacturing center that resulted in 15 million ruined doses. [ABC 7]

A new website created by the state of California has centralized homeless services data from 44 separate databases to help officials and lawmakers gain a much clearer picture of homelessness within the state. One immediate insight: 280,130 people were provided services in 2020, which is nearly double the estimated average nightly homeless population of 161,500. [L.A. Times]

56% of California seniors are now fully vaccinated, but that figure underplays a stark contrast in vaccine distribution and acceptance among different counties. Seniors in rural and Republican-leaning districts are getting vaccinated a significantly lower rate than in other parts of the state. [L.A. Times]

Vehicular manslaughter charges have been filed against a 17-year-old who was driving a black Lamborghini SUV when it collided with a Lexus sedan in West Los Angeles on Feb. 17. The 32-year-old woman driving the Lexus was pronounced dead at the scene. [ABC 7]

Zachary Thomas Horwitz, an actor who goes by the stage name Zach Avery, has been indicted on federal wire fraud charges alleging he perpetuated a $227 million Ponzi scheme that falsely promised licensing rights to would-be investors. Horwitz most recently appeared in the horror films The Devil Below and You’re Not Alone. [LA Mag]