The largest Covid vaccination site in the state will open next week at the 49ers Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, officials said today.
The move is ironic in that the county Health Department’s stringent rules caused the 49ers to play games without fans and, later in the season, forced the team to relocate to Arizona.
Plans call for vaccinating 5,000 county residents per day. The county is currently vaccinating residents 65 years and older in addition to health care workers.
As vaccine supply increases, plans are to vaccinate up to 15,000 people per day at the site.
“We recognize the urgent need for an effective and equitable vaccination effort for our community,” said 49ers President Al Guido.
The stadium site will be the fourth mass vaccination site in the county.
The county’s health system will staff and operate the site.
“The only way we are going to get through this pandemic is together,” said County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg. “Our County has a history of leading and opening California’s largest vaccination site in partnership with the 49ers is just another example of this.”
When the site opens, vaccination appointments can be made at sccfreevax.org. — Bay City News
Wait a minute! We’ve had vaccinations for eight weeks now, our county manager Jeff Smith and his health director Sara Cody, had all summer and fall to plan for the vaccination roll out — and now we’re opening mass vaccination sites? Why wasn’t this done earlier? It seems like they’re just slapping this together on the fly.