LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A citywide emergency alert was sent to cell phones in Los Angeles Monday to remind people to get a free COVID-19 vaccine.
"We're using every tool at our disposal to encourage Angelenos to get vaccinated," Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Twitter Monday morning.
The Wireless Emergency Alert urged L.A. County residents 16 and up to get a vaccine, which is available without an appointment at most city-run sites, and to encourage their friends and family members to also get their shots.
Los Angeles' city-run sites are offering more than 250,000 doses of the vaccine this week, which is the most the city has offered during the pandemic. That total includes 70,000 new Moderna vaccine doses, 45,000 new Pfizer vaccine doses and 3,000 new Johnson & Johnson doses that will be added to leftover supply.
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As of Monday, about 37% of eligible Los Angeles County residents are fully vaccinated, according to the county's public health. The county remains in the orange tier of reopening the economy, but recent COVID-19 data have shown promising signs of Los Angeles County possibly moving up to the least-restrictive yellow tier in the coming days.
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LA County edges closer to yellow tier
Los Angeles County's daily rate of new COVID-19 cases fell low enough -- barely -- Tuesday to qualify for a move to the least restrictive yellow tier of the state's economic-reopening blueprint.
On Thursday, L.A. County Public Health Director said the number of people getting their first COVID-19 vaccination in the county dropped significantly over the past week, calling the trend "very worrisome."
In an effort to get more people inoculated, the city will:
- Increase service at fixed vaccination centers from five days a week to six days, now operating from Monday through Saturday;
- Open a mobile night clinic at the South Park Recreation Center in South L.A. from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and
- Offer a drive-thru option at Cal State Los Angeles, allowing up to 9,000 doses a day to be administered at the site.
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"Our city and country stand at a critical turning point in our fight to defeat COVID-19 -- and just as we have in every phase of this crisis, we are meeting the moment with urgent action: by rolling up our sleeves and getting shots into the arms of every Angeleno," Garcetti said.
"Los Angeles has enough doses to keep our momentum going, protect our communities against new variants, and end this pandemic. So we all need to do our part to encourage our families, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to get vaccinated as soon as possible."
The city will also deploy 10 Mobile Outreach for Vaccine Equity teams from Monday through Saturday to Wilmington, South Park, Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw, Chesterfield Square/Harvard Park, Highland Park, Westlake, Sylmar, Panorama City and North Hollywood.