Gov. Newsom Announces Pilot Partnership with Biden Administration to Open Community Vaccination Sites in Los Angeles, Oakland

OAKLAND – Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Biden-Harris Administration today announced a pilot project to establish community vaccination sites in Oakland and Los Angeles.

These pilot sites, which will be based at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum and California State University, Los Angeles, are part of the wider effort to establish 100 vaccination sites nationwide in the federal administration’s first 100 days. The sites will be co-run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA and the State of California through the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services or Cal OES.

FEMA will provide resources and federal staffing support to establish these new community vaccination centers as well as operational support.

The two locations chosen for these efforts are in some of the most diverse and socioeconomically challenged communities in the country. They are also communities that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and are home to essential workers who have borne the brunt of keeping the economy open over the past year.

The goal of establishing these joint federal pilot sites is to continue to expand the rate of vaccinations in California in an efficient, effective and equitable manner, with an explicit focus on making sure that communities with a high risk of COVID-19 exposure and infection are not left behind.

In order to expand the reach of these state-federal sites further into the communities, each of these new sites will be paired with two mobile vaccination clinics which can be deployed to multiple locations to amplify and provide distribution to areas that otherwise lack sufficient support.

Preparations and buildout of these two locations are now underway and the sites are expected to be open to eligible members of the public beginning Feb. 16. Registration for vaccine appointments at these two sites will be available through the state’s MyTurn scheduling system in the coming days.

The State of California is coordinating closely with FEMA to ensure the vaccine doses used at these sites will not decrease the available supply for other sites in the hosting counties.