More than 250 grocery, drugstore and meatpacking facility workers got COVD-19 vaccinations at a pop-up site in Koreatown Saturday.
Those vaccinated were all members of UFCW 770, a local union that represents more than 30,000 members in Southern California.
California state and FEMA officials reached out to the union, which set up the appointments for a small number of its members, UFCW 770 President John Grant told KTLA, adding that more vaccine pop-ups are planned for the future.
In Los Angeles County, vaccine eligibility will expand on on March 1 to include food and agriculture workers, including grocery store employees; education and child-care workers; and emergency service workers.
Saturday’s vaccination of the essential workers is part of a state and federal effort to expand the reach of FEMA and state-operated sites with mobile vaccination clinics.
President Joe Biden’s administration plans to set up 100 vaccination sites nationwide in his first 100 days. One of the first of these sites opened at California State University, Los Angeles.
Each of the federally run sites, including Cal State L.A., is paired with two mobile vaccination clinics which can be deployed to different locations to reach underserved communities, state officials announced earlier this month.
Vaccinations at these sites are by appointment only and reservations can be made through the state’s MyTurn system.
“We are going around to various sites, and various community-based organizations within the city of L.A. and the county of L.A. to ensure that they get vaccinated, and that we reach the underserved communiies of the county,” a FEMA spokesperson said at Saturday’s vaccination event.
For now, COVID-19 vaccines in L.A. County are available to residents 65 and older, health care workers and residents and staff at long-term care facilities through the county’s website.