LOS ANGELES (CNS) - With COVID-19 vaccine supply still limited, Los Angeles' seven city-run vaccination sites and eight mobile clinics will provide about 55,000 first-dose appointments this week, down from 68,000 last week, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today.
“Hope is on the horizon, but we can only end this pandemic if Angelenos are vigilant, keep following public health guidelines, and get vaccinated when it's their turn,'' he said in a statement Monday. “Every vaccine being offered is safe, effective, and proven to protect us from severe illness, hospitalization, and death -- and as we get more doses into people's arms this week, we move even closer to defeating COVID-19 in Los Angeles.''
City sites this week are planning to receive about 55,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and distribute the allotment of its one-shot Johnson & Johnson doses received last week.
The city's Mobile Outreach for Vaccine Equity (MOVE) program will deliver about 7,000 Pfizer doses to residents in neighborhoods including Pico-Union, Van Nuys, Sunland/Tujunga, Vermont Square, Koreatown, Boyle Heights and Chinatown. So far, that program has inoculated nearly 24,000 Angelenos identified as having the highest need, with more than 90% going to people of color, according to the mayor's office.
The pool of eligible COVID-19 vaccine recipients expanded Monday to include people with underlying health conditions and disabilities, as well as the homeless. Last week, Los Angeles County also opened access to janitors, custodians, public transit workers and public works employees who respond in person to emergency events alongside emergency service personnel.
The city -- and the county and state as a whole -- is expecting a larger influx of vaccine doses, including additional shipments of Johnson & Johnson vaccines, in April.
Eligible groups can make an appointment for their first dose Coronavirus.LACity.org/VaxAppointment.
Most city-run sites are open Tuesday through Saturday, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Dodger Stadium is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Second-dose appointments will be available this week for people who received their first dose between Feb. 16-22. Those eligible for the second dose should have received a notification with their appointment details last week.
So far, L.A.'s city-run sites and mobile clinics have administered 610,922 vaccine doses, which is about 98% of its supply, Garcetti's office reported. The city's program is led by the Los Angeles Fire Department in partnership with Carbon Health, Curative, the USC School of Pharmacy, the mayor's fund for Los Angeles and Sean Penn's CORE nonprofit.
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