LOS ANGELES (CNS) — A Los Angeles city-run vaccination site opened Tuesday at the University of Southern California and is expected to administer thousands of vaccines per day once fully operational.
The site is located in the seven-level Flower Street parking garage at the University Park campus, located near the Expo Park Metro Station. People seeking a vaccine can drive up, walk up or request additional access services.
"This number will be initially limited due to supply constraints but ready to jump into action and grow as those doses are delivered in the coming weeks," Mayor Eric Garcetti said when he announced the site last week. He thanked USC President Carol Folt for her work to open the campus up to the public for vaccinations.
In addition to the new site, Garcetti also said the city is partnering with the rideshare app Uber to help people in South Los Angeles get inoculated at USC.
Uber is providing 15,000 free rides to pick up residents in South L.A. and take them to the site, and 20,000 rides will be available at half-off, "so at a moment when too many people in our city might qualify for the vaccine but don't have a car or a ride, we're going to make sure you get to your shot," Garcetti said.
The program is funded by Uber, which contributed $500,000 worth of rides, and the nonprofit Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles, to which Garcetti urged people to make donations at mayorsfundla.org.
"Right now, the mayor's fund is focusing more and more on those mobile teams, more on transportation and providing more support for outreach to vulnerable populations including our seniors and people with disabilities," Garcetti said.
City vaccination sites are ramping up first dose appointments this week, administering a total of 88,000 shots across seven permanent locations and eight mobile clinics.
Last week, Garcetti said Los Angeles surpassed a half-million doses administered at city-run sites, and this week's expected supply will enable those sites to offer nearly 68,000 first-dose appointments, along with 20,000 second-dose appointments.
Shipments include 54,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 25,000 from Johnson & Johnson, distributed across locations at San Fernando Park, Hansen Dam, Crenshaw Christian Center, Lincoln Park, Pierce College, USC University Park and Dodger Stadium.
City sites will remain open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the exception of Dodger Stadium, which will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the rest of the week.
All sites will offer second-dose appointments this week for Angelenos who received their first dose at a city site between February 8 and February 15. Los Angeles has now started auto-booking second-dose appointments weeks ahead for anyone who received their first dose at a city site.
Patients should note that the date stamped on the CDC vaccination cards received after their first dose is not an appointment confirmation. Instead, everyone should adhere to the appointment details provided by Carbon Health via email and/or text. First-dose appointments are available online here.