LA's New Coronavirus Vaccine Site Opens Amid Dosage Deficit

LOS ANGELES, CA — Gov. Gavin Newsom continued his tour of the newly opened vaccination sites in California on Tuesday, this time stopping at one one of the hardest-hit areas of the state if not the country — Los Angeles.

Newsom unveiled the vaccination site at Cal State Los Angeles, which was made possible by a partnership between the state and the federal government.

"If L.A. is the epicenter for COVID-19," City Councilman Kevin de Leon said, speaking from the campus. "This district that we're in today is ground zero for infection and mortality rates."

The two new super sites that opened Tuesday, one in L.A. and the other at the Oakland Colesium, are projected to accelerate the Golden State's vaccine rollout, which got off to a rocky start.

Each site will kick off with roughly 3,000 doses at each site. By the end of the week, Newsom said both sites will have the capacity to administer 6,000 doses per day. But Newsom said these vaccine doses will not take away from the supply of vaccines allocated to the state.

And while the state doesn't have enough doses to begin mass vaccinating residents in Los Angeles, the governor and Mayor Eric Garcetti said they are preparing for the day where supply is no longer an issue.

"We right now are at a place where we don't have enough vaccine," Garcetti said. "And you've heard me speak very passionately about this: 'enough vaccine for the demand' — in about a month or two that will flip, and we will have more vaccine and capacity if places don't build."

Vaccine appointments at the Cal State L.A. site are available here

From the beginning of the rollout, vaccine appointments in L.A. have been scarce, and some vaccination centers were ready to close early last week due to a dosage deficit. Some clinics even turned Angelenos away, according to the Los Angeles Times.

But things are starting to look up, Garcetti said.

"We right now could do 150,000 doses a day," he said. "Give us the supply, we'll be done by July."

The state has been allocated more vaccines each week, Newsom said. Last week, 1.08 million were delivered to the state while 1.28 million arrived this week. Next week, the governor said he expects 1.31 million to arrive.

Currently, the state is also averaging 201,000 administrations per day, Newsom said.

"We recognize we have more work to do," Newsom said. "The issue at the end of the day is supply...until we get to the proverbial space we're all looking forward to...and that's the herd immunity."

The two new supersites will be co-run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state of California through the governor's Office of Emergency Services.

"We are grateful to President Biden and Governor Newsom for marshaling federal and state resources to significantly increase our ability to vaccinate our residents in Los Angeles County," said Hilda Solis, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

A team of more than 200 soldiers arrived in Los Angeles last week to help staff the vaccination site. The team was deployed from Fort Carson in Colorado.

"As a veteran myself, I want to salute them," Garcetti said. "You are the ones who are angels in the City of Angels here today."

Garcetti also thanked Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck for his presence at the Southland's super site on Tuesday.

"What we face today is a threat to the homeland," VanHerck said Tuesday. "It may be a little bit of an asymmetric threat called COVID. But there's no more sacred or noble mission than taking care of one's family here in the homeland."

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The city will also turn its focus to equitably vaccinating its most vulnerable and underserved populations.

"Our county and in particular our Latinx residents have been absolutely devastated by COVID-19," Solis said.

The average coronavirus death rate among Latinos In Los Angeles County peaked in mid-January — a daily rate of 48 per 100,000 Latino residents. Black residents in the same time frame were dying from the disease at a rate of 23 deaths per 100,00 while Asian Americans were dying at a rate of 20 per 100,000, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"It’s particularly fitting that this state and federal vaccination center is opening here on the campus of Cal State L.A.," said Bill Covino, CSULA's president. "Starting today, it’s actually happening right behind me, communities that are among the hardest hit by the pandemic are coming here to Cal State LA for vaccinations."

To streamline vaccinating those who may not have the ability to travel to the campus, Newsom said the CSULA site will have "satellite sites."

"[It] will have a mobile unit that goes into the community meets people where they are," Newsom said.

Metrolink is also offering a direct connection to the site. Metrolink's Cal State LA Station is on the San Bernardino Line.

Riders can reach the walk- up vaccination location by taking the elevator or stairs from the train platform to the university transit center and following directional signs to Structure A. Shuttles will take people from the transit center to the vaccination site.

"With a county this size, offering transportation options to vaccination sites is critical," said Solis, a Metrolink board member. "... I am grateful that Metrolink will serve as a vital and accessible link for so many of our residents who rely on public transportation."

The state and county has seen a major downturn in the number of cases reported.

One month ago, on Jan. 16, the state reported an 11.4 percent positivity rate, today it's down to a 7-day average 3.5 percent positivity rate, Newsom said. There's also been a 39 percent reduction in the number of Californians hospitalized and a 32 percent reduction of patients in intensive care units.

Some 1,260 cases were confirmed Tuesday in Los Angeles along with 120 COVID-19 related deaths.

"There are only seven jurisdictions in the world that have administered more doses of the vaccine than the state of California," Newsom said, adding that some 6.3 million doses of the vaccine have now been administered.

The City News Service contributed to this report.