NEW ORLEANS — City officials announced a new partnership Tuesday with ridesharing company Uber to get more people without access to transportation to vaccination sites.
The partnership, between the city of New Orleans, Uber, community groups and healthcare partners, will promise 20,000 free or reduced Uber rides to several mass vaccination sites.
The vaccination clinic at the convention center, as well as any site run by the city of New Orleans or LCMC Health, will be eligible for the rides.
Those without transportation can indicate that they need help with getting to the location when signing up for an appointment either online or over the phone. Those without smartphones or the Uber app can call to set up an appointment over the phone to get help setting one up.
The partnership will launch Wednesday.
Around a quarter of New Orleans' population has at least begun the vaccination process, with around 14% completely vaccinated.
"We know that the vaccine is our way out of the pandemic," said Laura Mellem, a spokesperson for the city's department of homeland security. "One out of five New Orleanians don't have access to reliable transportation."
The problem is especially concerning for the city's Black residents, who make up a disproportionate ratio of COVID-19 deaths in the city. Although vaccination numbers for the Black population are rising, and they make up 60% of the city's population, African-Americans account for 75% of the city's coronavirus-related deaths.
Trevor Theunissen, Uber's director of public affairs for the South, praised the ridesharing program as a way to get life back to normal, and "to make sure transportation is not a barrier to getting a vaccine."
"We all need to do our part in making sure we are delivering vaccines quickly and efficiently," he said.
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