Arnold Schwarzenegger became one of the first 65-and-older Los Angeles County residents to receive an initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccine when he was inoculated Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
The actor and former California governor, 73, had booked an appointment himself online Tuesday at one of the city's large-scale vaccination sites after county health officials said his age group could begin receiving vaccines Thursday, according to his spokesman Daniel Ketchell.
Ketchell said it was a surprise when appointments were available for Wednesday. Schwarzenegger then signed up for an 8:50 a.m. PT slot.
Despite having no knowledge of the appointment, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti greeted Schwarzenegger. The mayor was at the site to personally check in cars arriving for appointments.
Schwarzenegger posted on Twitter with a video of getting the shot:
"Today was a good day. I have never been happier to wait in a line. If you're eligible, join me and sign up to get your vaccine. Come with me if you want to live!"
Schwarzenegger uttered two lines from his Hollywood days, per the HuffPost.
"Come with me if you want to live!" a line from "The Terminator" film franchise.
He also told the healthcare worker administering his vaccine to "put that needle down," words similar to a line in the 1996 Christmas movie "Jingle All the Way" in which he screams at a neighbor eating his wife's cookies: "Put that cookie down, now!"
Following an executive order from Hilda Solis, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, vaccine sites in the L.A. area began prioritizing the 65-and-up age group, per Politico.
Solis' order came after Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said last week she did not anticipate being able to offer vaccines to individuals in the older age group until next month. Her reason was thousands of healthcare and frontline workers still needed to be inoculated.
Appointment slots for residents 65 and older remained available at three of the county's drive-up, mass-vaccination sites and a handful of walk-up sites and clinics as of Wednesday afternoon.
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