In effort to address low inoculation rates, mobile vaccination unit opens in Southeast LA

SOUTH GATE, Calif. (KABC) -- County and city leaders are pouring resources into Southeast Los Angeles to address food insecurity and the lack of vaccinations in that region.

L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis, along with South Gate city leaders, announced on Friday a new mobile COVID-19 vaccination unit in the senior center at South Gate Park off Southern Avenue.

The mobile unit will operate at that location through next Wednesday before moving on. Solis says it will have the capacity to vaccinate up to 250 people on a daily basis.

During the pandemic, the Southeast L.A. region has seen a record number of COVID-19 cases. It's also an area with some of the lowest vaccination rates in the county.

Solis says the vaccination rates in cities such as Cudahy, Bell and Huntington Park are below 40%.

By launching the site and addressing the low inoculation rate among residents of that area, Solis and other local leaders hope to offer them some hope on the road to post-COVID life.

But that isn't the region's only struggle. A much-needed drive-thru food giveaway was also held there Friday.

"This area in my opinion is viewed as a health desert," Solis said.