LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Mayor Eric Garcetti of the City of Los Angeles is teaming up with mayors from major cities across the United States to ask the incoming Biden administration for proper resources and funding as coronavirus vaccines are distributed.
In a tweet Thursday, Garcetti said he wants to make sure no community is left behind as more and more people get vaccinated.
Garcetti also posted a letter in the tweet, backed by the mayors of New York, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, and other cities that represent a collective population of 40 million people.
The letter asks the incoming presidential administration for support and federal funding, saying that the City of Los Angeles has already tested 3.5 million people for COVID-19.
Cities are front & center in the COVID-19 response. We know what our residents need most.
Mayors nationwide are calling on the Biden Administration to create a direct line of vaccines and funding to ensure no community is left behind & everyone can access this life-saving step. pic.twitter.com/MmRhqnU0fQ
— MayorOfLA (@MayorOfLA) January 13, 2021
Garcetti added it is important to help healthcare clinics distribute the vaccination through local partnerships that mayors can help build so that no doses are wasted.
Thursday evening, Garcetti gave a live update on the city’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. He emphasized the need to help small businesses during the pandemic.
“We know what is on the line,” Garcetti said. “Communities shattered, and jobs are on the line when businesses fail.”
Garcetti said $5 million was donated by Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and his wife, Willow Bay, so that 1,000 businesses can receive grants in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Thursday reported 17,323 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and 287 deaths, bringing countywide totals to 975,299 cases and 13,234 deaths.
