Vaccine Super Site At Cal State Los Angeles To Shut Down April 11
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The vaccine super site run by FEMA at Cal State Los Angeles will shut down on April 11, the state Office of Emergency Services announced Friday.
The state and federal officials behind the Cal State LA super site say the eight-week mission of distributing vaccines will be complete on April 11
"This partnership has been a tremendous success and shows what can happen when all levels of government come together to meet a challenge that has affected this state, the nation and the world," FEMA Region 9's acting Administrator, Tammy Littrell, said in a statement. "Beyond just providing vaccinations, this effort is helping to reopen schools, businesses and communities."
RELATED: All Those Age 16 And Older Eligible To Receive COVID Vaccine In Calif. Beginning April 15
The site was set up in mid-February with a capacity to vaccinate approximately 6,000 people a day. Officials say the sites, including one up north in Oakland, exceeded that initial expectation and administered more than 7,500 shots per day. And the vast majority of those vaccines, at 67%, were administered to underserved communities and people of color.
"In the fight against COVID-19, equity is key. This pilot program has shown the rest of the nation a forward-leaning way to serve our communities most in need," Cal OES Director Mark Ghilarducci said in a statement.
The agencies say that the sites will continue to honor all scheduled appointments, administering Pfizer second doses to people through April 1. In the final two weeks, the sites will provide the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines in order to maximize the number of people the sites serve.
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Millions of people will become eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine in just weeks. Starting April 1, people 50 and older will become eligible and on April 15, those 16 and older can receive the vaccine.
Appointments might be hard to come by when eligibility first opens to the general public in the coming weeks, so residents are urged to watch out for any scams, like people saying they will take payment in exchange for a vaccine appointment.
L.A. County is working on a plan to either have the city take over the site as Cal State L.A. or have the county manage it as one of the area's major vaccination centers.
