Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti 'can't wait' to get booster shot after testing positive for COVID-19
"I think all of us know we're going to be living with this for a long time," the mayor said.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says he won't wait to get a COVID-19 booster shot after he tested positive for the virus on Wednesday while being fully vaccinated.
Garcetti is currently overseas in Scotland. He said he received both doses of the Moderna vaccine and is showing signs of improvement as he isolates in a hotel room.
"I'm exercising here in the room, I'm trying to eat as healthy as I can," said the mayor during a Zoom interview with Eyewitness News on Friday. "This is a reminder of how real this thing is. That even with vaccination you could have these breakthrough cases. I'm lucky that it's not more extreme, probably because of that."
He said he believed he may have gotten a false positive result from his initial COVID test, but after getting re-tested, that wasn't the case.
"I got the rona," the mayor said jokingly. "I got a second [test] and yes, it is positive."
The mayor is in Glasgow for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. He was attending the conference with about seven staff members, all of whom tested negative. He said once he's eligible, he'll be going in for his booster dose.
"I can't wait to get my booster once the time limit has expired after having a case," he said. "I think all of us know we're going to be living with this for a long time, so I look forward to getting that booster. I recommend that people do."
Garcetti defends city vaccine mandate: 'I as mayor will never apologize for saving lives'
In accordance with the UN's guidelines for the conference, Garcetti conducted self-administered nasal swab tests frequently throughout the trip and tested negative, including receiving negative results twice on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the mayor and his staff took PCR tests to get back into the United States, and Garcetti's positive test result was received on Wednesday.
The mayor's team was figuring out what will happen next as Garcetti isolates in Glasgow. Garcetti had been scheduled to return to the United States on Thursday.
Now that children ages 5 to 11 are eligible for Pfizer's COVID vaccine for kids, Garcetti said his daughter will be getting her first dose next week.
City News Service contributed to this report.
