Levi's Stadium Home To Largest Vaccination Site In California
SANTA CLARA (KPIX) - On the eve of opening day, hundreds of healthcare workers and organizers held practice runs at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Monday, to make sure the process goes efficiently when they begin vaccinating county residents against COVID-19.
"We want to make sure as soon as they enter the gates of Levi's Stadium that process of checking-in and getting registered goes as smoothly as possible," said Nelda David of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.
The stadium will serve as California's largest mass vaccination site. The county has said it is capable of inoculating 5,000 eligible residents per day with the eventual goal of 15,000 residents a day at Levis' Stadium.
But county officials confirmed last week a shortage in supply and there's no word on when it will receive more doses.
As of Monday, the county had received a reported 351,485 doses and administered 266,326 doses altogether.
"We are very hopeful to get the vaccine to keep up the pace," David said.
Barbara Lund, who works at a hair salon in Willow Glen, is waiting to become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
"I'm praying that they roll it out as quickly as they can," she said.
She's excited that Levi's Stadium is right in her own backyard. Lund said she would make an appointment to get the vaccine through the county if she can get it quicker than with her doctor when she's eligible.
As of Monday night, there were open appointments at Levi's Stadium on Thursday and Friday.
"This is great, it's wonderful," said Lund. "I want my customers to feel safe, and I want to feel safe and I want to protect my family."
The process from start to finish at Levi's Stadium can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, according to David. She said patients will have to get through security, register, go through a COVID screening and then undergo observation after the actual immunization.
"There's definitely a lot of challenges logistically, and doing it on such a big scale because of the sheer number of people, the volume of people, we have," said David.
Lund said she can't wait to get the vaccination after life, as she knew it, was put on hold.
"That's all we do, we stay home," said Lund. "I missed my 25th wedding anniversary, we had two trips scheduled, we had to cancel that and we didn't get to have Christmas with our family."
Levi's Stadium will be open Tuesday through Friday from 12-6:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Santa Clara county residents can sign up for a COVID-19 vaccination at www.sccfreevax.org
