LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Anyone 16 years old or over can get a free COVID-19 vaccine today without an appointment at the Pico Union Project.
The vaccination site, located at 1153 Valencia St., will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to Councilman Gil Cedillo, who is co-hosting the event with the Pico Union Project. People who receive a vaccine will also get a free bag of produce.
“Although more people are getting vaccinated, we all must continue to wear masks, practice social distancing, not gather with people outside of our household, wash our hands regularly and get vaccinated,'' Cedillo said.
“I know we keep stressing this and we are all tired of these measures, but we must continue if we are going to make it out of the dark. I ask those who have not been vaccinated to take advantage of our Pico Union Project Vaccination Site.''
On Thursday, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer announced a 50% drop in the number in people booking appointments at Los Angeles County vaccination sites, marking the first such drop and leading to more calls for people to get the shots and propel the county toward a return to normalcy.
Ferrer did not have the exact number of how many appointments went unfilled over the past week, but said county-operated vaccination sites saw sharp drops in people coming in for their first dose. That means the county, for the first time, will likely fall short of its goal of administering 95% of the doses it receives within one week.
“We've seen a significant drop here in L.A. County with people getting vaccinated, and it's very worrisome. Very worrisome,'' Ferrer said. “This would not be the time to sort of lose momentum on vaccinations.''
People seeking more information about the Pico Union site can contact Cedillo's office at 213-473-7001 or Gilbert.Cedillo@lacity.org.
The Pico Union Project is a multi-faith cultural arts center dedicated to the Jewish principal “love your neighbor as yourself'' and seeks to bring people together through song, story, art and activism, according to its website. It has previously held events to administer flu vaccines to people in the community.
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