PALMDALE (CNS) - Metrolink and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health are partnering to provide free mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinics beginning today at Metrolink's Palmdale and Lancaster stations, with the ability to administer 250 inoculations at each site per day.
Vaccinations will be ongoing weekly -- from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday -- by walk-up or by pre-registering with vaccination provider RemediaCare, which will supply vaccines to anyone age 16 and older who lives or works in L.A. County, in accordance with Public Health guidelines.
“Programs like these are critical to facilitating the vaccination rollout to neighborhoods where our most vulnerable populations reside throughout the county to reduce the impact of COVID-19,'' county Supervisor Kathryn Barger, a Metrolink board member, said in announcing the plan last week.
Metrolink riders can also receive free COVID-19 vaccinations at the Cal State Los Angeles super site that is easily accessible from the Cal State LA Metrolink station on the San Bernardino Line.
Metrolink CEO Stephanie Wiggins said Thursday that she was “pleased to partner with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on such an important endeavor and I thank the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster for helping launch these initial vaccination clinics to stop the coronavirus spread in those communities.''
“We hope to identify additional Metrolink station-based vaccination clinics in the coming weeks,'' she said.
Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said bringing COVID-19 “vaccinations directly into a community is critical. We must protect our residents from this virus and ensure equitable distribution.''
Palmdale Mayor Steven D. Hofbauer noted that many Antelope Valley residents “rely on public transit, and with this collaborative effort, bringing these life-saving vaccines to the Palmdale Metrolink Station makes a significant positive impact on public health.''
For more information on vaccination sites located within a three-mile radius of its stations, visit Metrolink's Vaccine Clinic Locator resource.
Metrolink is the largest passenger rail agency in California and the third-largest in the United States, operating seven lines along a 538-mile network that travels across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.
Photo: Getty Images
Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.