NorCal Vaccine Site Closes For 2 Days To Host Anime Event

ROSEVILLE, CA — A large vaccination site in Placer County will close Thursday and Friday to host an anime event, according to a county spokesperson.

SacAnime organized the event, which is billed as a swap meet, at The Grounds Friday through Sunday. The site has served as Roseville's main vaccination clinic.

Backlash was swift against SacAnime's plans after several media reports circulated about the in-person event that would welcome crowds of people in lieu of vaccination appointments.

"I’m so glad an anime convention is being held in the same area they’re administering vaccines," one person commented on a SacAnime Facebook post, the Sacramento Bee reported. "Bonus points for delaying my 2nd dose past the recommended 28 days."

Multimedia artist and character designer Keaghlan Ashley also weighed in on Twitter.

"Yeah there’s no good justification for holding an in person event of this size," Ashley tweeted. "No matter how you spin it, this is a terrible look for your event."

The center won't host vaccine appointments for two days this week but will extend clinic hours Monday through Wednesday the following week, Katie Combs-Prichard, the county's spokeswoman, told Patch.

"I think there are some misperceptions that we're reducing appointments, which is not the case. We just moved them all," Combs-Prichard said.

The SacAnime spring 2021 swap meet will take place at the event center, and organizers required all guests to wear masks. Celebrity voice actors and comic book artists were booked to sign autographs. More than 100 exhibitors, vendors and cosplayers are expected to attend.

"We are aware of the concerns regarding the [Placer County] fairgrounds vaccinations clinic closing during our event," SacAnime officials tweeted Tuesday. "The clinic never had plans to be open during the scheduled time and declined our offer to restrict our event space so they could remain open."

The Grounds has been the site of more than 50,000 vaccinations of Placer County residents. It normally closes on weekends, but it will close this week on the first day the state opens vaccine eligibility to those 50 and older. Placer County currently sits in the red tier and has a 2.7 percent positivity rate.

Maybe don’t host a super spreader event in place of a Vaccination Site? https://t.co/k2hNTREwNa
— Keaghlan Ashley (@KeaghlanAshley) March 30, 2021

Indoor conventions are not allowed in counties that are in the red tier on the state's reopening map. Swap meets may operate at 50 percent capacity with closed common areas and reduced capacity for food courts.

"My understanding is that this event is operating specifically under the state's guidance for swap meets," Combs-Prichard said, adding that she wasn't sure how many tickets were sold for the event.

Despite the extended hours offered for appointments the following week, some took to social media to express concern about the event.

SacAnime released a statement this week, addressing community concerns. "We are saddened by the article that the Sacramento Bee ran yesterday morning about our Swap Meet this coming weekend," SacAnime officials said in a statement. "We worked with the Placer County Health Department, and Placer County Fairgrounds to run this Swap Meet safely and within parameters, as we did last September and October at the same Event Center."

The organization said it hosted a similar event in October last year, months before the state began its vaccine rollout. "We had already extended our hours Monday through Wednesday to move all those appointments," Combs-Prichard said. "So we're at our regular volume for this week, and we're using all of our vaccines for this week already."

The majority of appointments scheduled this week were for second doses, Combs-Prichard added.