LA Sends Emergency Alert To Cell Phones Urging Residents To Get Vaccinate

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — 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.

"This afternoon, a citywide Wireless Emergency Alert will be sent to everyone in the city with info on free + convenient vaccine options LA City is offering to all eligible residents in CountyofLA," Garcetti said.

L.A. County residents received the alert Monday afternoon which included information on vaccine options offered by the city.

The 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.

Last week, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer 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.

"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."

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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