Stanford Partners With Santa Clara County At New Vaccination Site

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County opened up a new COVID-19 mass vaccination site at the Aloha Roller Rink in Eastridge Mall in East San Jose on Friday.

In a partnership with Stanford Health Care, the county said it will be able to vaccinate up to 2,000 people a day at the site, which will operate seven days a week. East San Jose has been one of the hardest hit regions in the county by the pandemic, as it is home to many essential workers living in a densely populated area.

“95122 is about the same size in terms of population as the city of Gilroy. That’s how dense it is. That’s how overcrowded it is,” said San Jose council member Sylvia Arenas at a news briefing. “It’s a community that has been struggling in COVID infection, death rates, poverty, crime. That’s why I'm so relieved that Stanford Health Care has decided to come here. We advocated. We all advocated.”

The county is leasing the site from the Aloha Roller Rink, which is currently closed due to pandemic restrictions.

“It almost brings tears to my eyes to see this wonderful facility and the access that it will bring to the community,” said Dr. Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado, who heads the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “This is a wonderful example of how we are going to be able to reach all of our communities and end this pandemic.”

Liz Ruiz, the owner of the rink, joked that her location will be “the most fun vaccination site in all of California.” She said she was happy to let the county use her empty space for vaccinations.

“The more that we help you guys get to the vaccine levels that we need, then the sooner we will get to the yellow tier and I will be able to open again,” Ruiz said.

Click here for more information on vaccinations in the county. The county's health system is currently booked for vaccinations through next week.