Dear Friend --

I wanted to provide a vaccination update.

The good news is that most in Group A have already received their vaccine. If you are in Group A, which includes workers in healthcare, medical fields, paramedics, dentists, pharmacists, home healthcare workers, community health workers, and nursing homes, and you have not been vaccinated at your hospital, office, or clinic site we want to get you vaccinated. First, contact your employer for updated details on your vaccination, but if you are in Group A and still unable to get vaccinated, please email [email protected] and our health team will schedule you to get vaccinated.

Additionally, if you live in Long Beach but work elsewhere, know that we are still committed to getting you vaccinated. We want all Long Beach residents in Group A vaccinated.

Vaccinations for folks in Group B will start on Thursday of next week, but just because Group B starts next week does not mean Group A ends. Group A members can get vaccinated with priority at any time moving forward.

Group B includes teachers, educators, grocery workers, emergency management city workers and residents 75 and over. There may be other folks in Group B added later by the state but for now, these groups are up next. People in these groups will be contacted directly by their worksite to get the vaccine. Please reach out to your employer first and remember that this process will take weeks to complete.

If you are over 75, be sure to begin by contacting your medical provider and they will work to get you vaccinated.

For those in Group B who can’t get vaccinated at their worksite or if someone over 75 does not have a medical provider, we plan to launch vaccination clinics to help you directly. More information on that will be made available next week.

If you are a grocery store, small market, or school site worker (public or private) and do not get notified through your employer, please email [email protected]. If you are a teacher or grocery worker who lives in Long Beach and work elsewhere, we ask that you first work through your employer to be vaccinated. However, if this is not available, we will get you vaccinated at one of our clinics once they are announced for Group B next week.

If you have not been listed above it’s because your Group is not up yet. And we don’t have complete guidelines from the state on exact dates or when vaccines will arrive. We are vaccinating as soon as we get shipments and we are rolling out a model program.

Again, we will have more info on Group B next week.

For the most up-to-date information about our city's vaccination plan, please visit: http://longbeach.gov/health/diseases-and-condition/information-on/coronavirus/vaccines/.

You can also email [email protected] for any other specific questions not covered here.

Like we have been doing with testing, your city is managing our own process. We continue to receive very little federal assistance, but we are doing all we can to get the vaccine out as quickly and effectively as possible. I’m very proud of our team and the hard work they are all putting into this effort, and I greatly appreciate everyone's patience as we work through this monumental endeavor.

We are getting there.

Thank you and stay safe,

Mayor Robert Garcia