Support for LAist comes from
Local and national news, NPR, things to do, food recommendations and guides to Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire
Stay Connected
Listen

Share This

News

What To Do If An LA County Vaccination Site Turns You Away On The Day Of Your Second Dose

A dose of the Pfizer BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at UCI Health Center in Orange. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)
()

Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.

We’re answering your questions about getting that crucial second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

If you got your first shot at a vaccine site run by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, you should get an email before your second dose is due with a link to schedule your second dose appointment.

But a lot of you asked us what to do if you don’t get that email.

We brought those questions to L.A. Public Health, which told us:

Support for LAist comes from
“If you do not receive an email, you can go back to the site you received your first dose, on the day of your 2nd dose appointment — 21 days after their first dose if you received a Pfizer vaccine, and 28 days after your first dose if you received Moderna.

You must provide proof of first dose vaccination or you will be turned away.

Please do not visit the site earlier than the 21st or 28th day.”

But what if you follow all of these instructions from the health department and still get turned away once you get there?

L.A. Public Health director Barbara Ferrer addressed that at a Feb. 10 briefing:

“I would encourage everybody who shows up to one of the county sites for a second dose appointment – if you've got your white slip and your [photo] identification, or you've got verification that came to you via your cell phone – please by all means ask to speak with a manager. We are honoring those forms of verification.”

Specifically, Ferrer said you can ask for a site manager. She said every vaccination site run by LA Public Health should have one.

"There are hundreds and hundreds of people — volunteers, different crews — on different days at all of our sites," Ferrer said, "so I apologize if anybody felt like you weren't able to easily get seen when you in fact have the verifications."

Again: this advice is specific to sites run by LA Public Health –

  • Pomona Fairplex
  • Magic Mountain
  • The Forum
  • LA County Office of Education
  • Cal State Northridge
  • Balboa Sports Complex
  • El Sereno Recreation Center.

If you got vaccinated somewhere like Dodger Stadium (which is run by the City of LA), or a pharmacy, they have different second dose policies.

We have more details about how to get your vaccine second dose in our appropriately named guide – How To Get The Second Dose Of Vaccine -- And Everything You Need To Know About It.

Support for LAist comes from

Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.

READ OUR GUIDES TO GETTING THE COVID-19 VACCINE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

CHECK OUT OUR ONGOING COVERAGE OF COVID-19 VACCINES:

As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.

Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.

We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.

Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.

Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

Chip in now to fund your local journalism
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist