OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 29: Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (27) throws agains the Oakland Athletics in the third inning for Game 1 of their American League wild-card playoff series at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
The Oakland Coliseum — home of the Oakland As’s baseball team — will be one of two community vaccination sites in California under an initiative announced Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Biden administration.
The pilot sites will be based at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum and California State University, Los Angeles, and run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. The effort is part of the Biden administration’s effort to establish 100 vaccination sites nationwide in the its first 100 days.
“In the fight against COVID-19, partnership is key, especially when it comes to reaching Californians in underserved areas,” Newsom in a statement. “These new sites will help us get available supply to some of the California communities most in need. I thank the Biden Administration for standing with us as we continue our efforts to safely, swiftly and equitably vaccinate all Californians.”
The sites are expected to be open to eligible members of the public beginning February 16. Registration for vaccine appointments at the sites will be available through the state’s MyTurn scheduling system “in the coming days,” the governor’s office said.
Each of the new sites will be paired with two mobile vaccination clinics which can be deployed to multiple locations to amplify and provide distribution to areas that otherwise lack sufficient support.
FEMA will provide resources and federal staffing support to establish these new community vaccination centers as well as operational support.
Acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton said in a statement that it marks “a significant step forward in the ongoing effort to ensure every American who wants a vaccine will receive a vaccine.”
The state is coordinating with FEMA to ensure the vaccine doses used at these sites will not decrease the available supply for other sites in the hosting counties.
The governor’s office said the two chosen locations “are in some of the most diverse and socioeconomically challenged communities in the country” and “have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19” because they are home to many essential workers whose jobs raise their risk of exposure to the coronavirus.
The goal of establishing the joint federal pilot sites is to expand the rate of vaccinations in California and ensure that communities with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection are not left behind, Newsom’s office said.
In Santa Clara County, Supervisor Cindy Chavez, San Jose City Councilwoman Magdalena Carrasco and Assemblyman Ash Kalra are planning an event Thursday to urge Newsom to prioritize equitable and proportionate COVID-19 vaccine allocation to counties.
They say the governor and California Department of Public Health should consider the racial populations as well as the numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, noting that they represent the areas in Santa Clara County hardest hit by COVID-19 with large communities of color and many essential workers.
