In another sign of the improving times, the Oakland Coliseum’s mass vaccination site will close May 23.
Alameda County and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services say the site is shutting down amid a huge drop in demand for COVIDÂ vaccines, which have been so effective that California is planning to drop most of its pandemic restrictions on June 15.
The county says requests for appointments at the Coliseum site have dropped 90%, from 4,000 to 400 per day.
As of May 4, 72% of county residents 16 and over have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 47% have been fully vaccinated.
CalOES opened the Coliseum site Feb. 15 in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The state will hand off the site to Alameda County on May 10 so that second doses can be administered, followed by a full closure two weeks later.
The county says it is now changing its inoculation strategy to “meet people where they” are in offering access to vaccines by providing “localized options.”
âWe can now shift our resources into additional focused efforts that will reach residents who are more comfortable receiving their vaccines from trusted community partners and deploying our resources deeply into the communities that have borne the brunt of the pandemic,â said Colleen Chawla, the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency director, in a press release.
Other vaccine sites in the county besides the Coliseum include the Buchanan parking lot at Golden Gate Fields, the Alameda County Fairgrounds, and Fremont High School in Fruitvale.
Alameda County residents not yet vaccinated can make an appointment by calling 510-208-4VAX or by signing up online. Some CVS pharmacies are also now offering walk-in appointments.
âJon Brooks
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