LA Citywide Alert Issued to Remind People to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine

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 was sent to mobile devices Monday afternoon and included information on vaccine options offered by the city that are open to all LA County residents.

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.

On Thursday, LA 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 LA 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.

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"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.

California COVID-19 Vaccinations

The map tracks the number of doses administered by a recipient's county of residence according to the The California Department of Public Health.

Source: The statewide totals for doses administered reflect Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Otherwise we used data from the California Department of Public Health.
Amy O’Kruk/NBC