Feds Step In With Mass Vaccination Site At Cal State LA

LOS ANGELES, CA — The federal government will step in for the first time to directly vaccinate residents in Los Angeles against the coronavirus at a Cal State Los Angeles site run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the governor announced Wednesday.

The colaboration between the governor's Office of Emergency Services and the Biden administration represents a major shift in the fight against the coronavirus, which has largely centered on a patchwork effort by each county. The pilot project is part of President Joseph Biden's committement to establish 100 vaccination sites nationwide in 100 days. It also comes as the state shifts its appraoch, turning increasingly to nonprofit insurance companies and pharmacies to help ramp up vaccinations.

Newsom, announced the pilot project at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum Wednesday morning, another federal site opening in Northern California. Both locations are aimed at reaching underserved communities. The centers will also be outfited with two mobile vaccination clinics that can be deployed in communities with limited support facilities.

“In the fight against COVID-19, partnership is key, especially when it comes to reaching Californians in underserved areas,” said Newsom. “These new sites will help us get available supply to some of the California communities most in need...Equity is the call of this moment."

"The reason this site was chosen was the framework of making sure communities that are often left behind are not left behind, but prioritized in terms of the administration of these vaccines. As a consequence, we are blessed not only by the announcement of this partnership with the Biden administration but their full federal support in terms of their allocation of the resources to help us move forward with the distribution of these vaccines."

According to Newsom, the new sites should be able to administer 6,000 doses per day. The effort continues to be hampered by the limitted number of doses made available by the federal government. On Wednesday, Newsom said 1,060,000 doses would be provided to California this week.

Acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton said the two California sites are "perfect examples of how FEMA is working around the clock to support state led, federally supported vaccine delivery. Today's announcement is a significant step forward in the ongoing effort to ensure every American who wants a vaccine will receive a vaccine."

FEMA will provide resources and federal staffing support, as well as operational support.

"Cal State L.A. is ready to work with President Joe Biden, Gov. Gavin Newsom and their administrations to provide badly needed vaccinations," said Jose Gomez, the university's executive vice president and provost. "Our students and alumni live in communities with some of the highest COVID-19 infection rates per capita in Los Angeles County."

Officials said the two California locations were chosen because they're in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and are home to essential workers who have borne the brunt of keeping the economy open over the past year.

"We are grateful to President Biden and Governor Newsom for marshaling federal and state resources to significantly increase our ability to vaccinate our residents in Los Angeles County," said Hilda Solis, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. "Our county and in particular our Latinx residents have been absolutely devastated by COVID-19. Establishing this large scale federal-state community vaccination center on the Cal State L.A. campus, in the heart of Los Angeles County and in a hard-hit community, is a welcome signal that we are ramping up at the federal, state and local level with the practical, boots-on-the-ground solutions we need to put an end to this deadly pandemic."

Both sites are expected to be open to the public begining on Feb. 16. The vaccine is currently limitted to health workers and older residents. Registration for vaccine appointments at the Cal State L.A. site and neighboring sites will be available at https://myturn.ca.gov/.

City News Service contributed to this report.