Long Beach Convention Center To Serve As COVID Vaccination Site
LONG BEACH (CBSLA) – The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center will serve as a coronavirus vaccination super site.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia made the announcement Tuesday evening. It's expected to open next week.
"Now the first workers who will be vaccinated at this site just next week, will be our grocery and food distribution workers," Garcia said in his state of the city address Tuesday night.
Garcia said at least 13,000 Long Beach residents have been vaccinated so far. On Jan. 19, grocery store workers and police in Long Beach will begin receiving vaccines, Garcia disclosed. Long Beach residents 65 and older would be able to receive vaccines beginning on Jan. 23.
Teachers in the Long Beach Unified School District will begin receiving the vaccine the week of Jan. 25, Garcia added.
This comes after Dodger Stadium Monday halted its coronavirus testing operation in order to transition entirely to vaccine distribution.
Dodger Stadium, which was the largest coronavirus testing site in the nation, is expected to reopen by the end of this week as a drive-thru vaccine site. It will be capable of administrating up to 12,000 doses a day once it is fully operational, city officials said.
A vaccination super site opened at the Disneyland Resort on Wednesday for Orange County residents. About 3,000 people were vaccinated on the first day, but the county's website crashed due to demand. The O.C. Healthcare Agency reported that 10,000 people signed up Tuesday evening for appointments.
The state of California announced Wednesday that anyone aged 65 and older is eligible for a vaccine. However, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the county is still working to vaccinate 500,000 healthcare workers, hopefully by the end of this month. Ferrer said the county needs many more doses from the state to be ready to vaccinate those 65 and older.
The city of Long Beach has its own health department which is separate from L.A County.
RELATED: 'We Must Speed Up': Mass Vaccination Sites Opening Up In LA As Scrutiny Over Slow Rollout Continues
UCLA business professor Christopher Tang told CBSLA Wednesday that L.A. County did not have the infrastructure in place ahead of time to make sure the vaccines could be administered quickly.
If you are a healthcare worker and would like to make an appointment to get vaccinated in L.A. County, click here.
