Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a new vaccination site at USC which will have the capacity to vaccinate up to 5,000 people a day.
The site will be at the corner of Exposition and Figueroa next to USC’s University Park campus. The new site will open Tuesday and be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will accommodate drive up, walk up and others who need additional access.
In addition, the city and the Mayor's Fund of LA will provide 15,000 free rides - and another 20,000 rides half-off - to get South LA residents to the USC site for their vaccinations if they don't have access to cars - through a partnership with Uber. Uber has committed to the amount of $500,000 worth of rides.
GUIDE TO SOCAL VACCINATIONS: https://www.audacy.com/knxnews/news/local/find-out-info-on-covid-vaccinations-in-la-la-county-oc
“Equity drives every facet of our strategy to end the pandemic, but our efforts will come up short unless we shorten the distance between life-saving vaccines and our hardest-hit Angelenos,” said Mayor Garcetti in a press release. “Our City is determined to deliver doses to residents of South L.A. and every community — and our partnerships with both USC and Uber will enable us to get shots into the arms of thousands more Angelenos every day and move us closer to defeating COVID-19.”
In its first week, the USC site will be limited to a few thousand doses, according to a press release. But starting next week a large portion of the appointments will be reserved for South LA seniors. Then up to 5,000 people per day will be able to be vaccinated.
“It’s our privilege to help in this effort and actively partner with the City and Mayor Garcetti to fight this virus,” said Dr. Carol Folt, President of USC. “This center will help bring vaccines into communities most impacted by COVID-19.”
“The distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine must be rapid, equitable and accessible. For many vulnerable neighbors like the ones I represent, it can be a matter of life and death,” said Councilmember Curren Price. “The new vaccination site at USC will complement efforts happening on the ground in CD 9 right now. This includes our mobile vaccination sites, as well as trusted health centers that our community turns to like St. John's Well Child & Family Center and Kedren Health. Strategic partnerships such as this one increase access to care, protect our communities and ensure people of color are not sidelined.”
Los Angeles has six city-run mega-sites offering COVID-19 vaccinations -- Dodger Stadium, Hansen Dam drive through, San Fernando Park, Crenshaw, Lincoln Park and Cal State Los Angeles.