New Mobile COVID Vaccine Unit Comes To Southeast LA Friday
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A new COVID-19 mobile vaccine unit will launch Friday in Southeast Los Angeles as part of an effort to vaccinate the hardest-hit areas of L.A. County.
The launch was being announced by L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis at a food distribution event in South Gate. Solis told reporters in a news briefing that the vaccination rate among eligible residents in the area is under 40%.
"Many of them can't go to those big distribution centers where they are administering the vaccines, quite frankly, many of it is because they are either working, or they don't have transportation, or they don't have the information to go on the internet," Solis said Friday.
The mobile unit will be capable of administering up to 250 doses per day. It will be in the area through at least March 10.
On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state will begin setting aside 40% of all vaccine doses for the state's most vulnerable communities.
"You can't safely reopen your economy until you get this disease behind us," Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday. "We can't honestly do that until we address those communities that are disproportionately vulnerable."
This comes as L.A. County reported 2,253 new coronavirus cases Thursday, the highest one-day total since Feb. 20.
Also Thursday, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that a new L.A. city-run vaccination site will open next week at the University of Southern California.
L.A. County as a whole has been struggling to obtain enough COVID-19 doses to meet demand. On May 1, the county expanded vaccine eligibility to include teachers, food and agriculture workers, first responders and law enforcement personnel.
Nearly 10 million doses have now been administered across California.
