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Long Beach Convention Center Now Offering COVID Vaccines To Residents 16+ On Walk-Up Basis

LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — The city of Long Beach announced Thursday that residents 16 years old and older can now get COVID-19 vaccinations on a walk-up basis at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Long Beach opens mass vaccine site at convention center.
LONG BEACH, CA - JANUARY 19: Hundreds of cars lined up outside the Long Beach Convention Center for the first day at the mass COVID-19 vaccine site in Long Beach on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. (Photo by Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images)

According to Mayor Robert Garcia, city residents can get the shots beginning Thursday and continuing Mondays through Saturdays at the convention center.

Garcia said if the site runs out of doses, people will be immediately scheduled for a return appointment, Garcia said.

On April 15, California residents age 16 and up will be able to receive vaccinations statewide. Garcia said that online appointments for people in that eligibility bracket will not begin until that date.

The walk-up vaccinations put Long Beach, which has its own municipal health department, ahead of other parts of the county.

In Los Angeles County, eligibility for residents 16 and older will not change until April 15.

On Wednesday, L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said over 5 million people in the county are already eligible for shots, and many have not yet received even a first dose.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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