CALIFORNIA—On Tuesday, February 9, Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, became the largest vaccination site in the state, which was announced last week by Santa Clara County and the 49ers organization.
The stadium is expected to have an “initial capacity to vaccinate 5,000 people per day” and increase it to 15,000 “as vaccine supplies increase,” according to a news release.
Al Guido, President of the SF 49ers stated “we recognized the urgent need for an effective and equitable vaccination effort for our community and are proud to partner with the County of Santa Clara to bring this vaccination site online as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
President of the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, Mike Wasserman said “we appreciate the 49ers stepping up during this difficult time and providing valuable space and resources in the fight against COVID-19” and added that “helping to vaccinate the community shows true leadership and winning teamwork.”
The County of Santa Clara Health System will be administering vaccines to residents. The SF 49ers tweeted on February 5, when the stadium was first announced as a vaccination site, to encourage its followers to “get tested & get the COVID-19 vaccine so we can get you back in the stands.”
Two days after Levi’s Stadium began vaccinating people, California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted on February 11 that the state “has administered over 5 million vaccines,” which means “1 in 10 residents” have been vaccinated.
That same day, President Joe Biden said by the end of July there will be enough vaccines for every American, which is two days after Newsom said hospitalizations are “down 34%” and ICU (Intensive Care Unit) admissions are “down 26%” compared to the last 2 weeks, in a February 9 tweet.
Newsom noted that the positivity rate is at 4.8 percent, compared to 14 percent a month ago, a 9.2 percent decrease.
California’s largest vaccination site opening comes less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of in-person worship in the state, but noted there will be restrictions due to COVID-19.
This comes less than a month after the governor lifted the state’s regional stay-at-home order due to a decline in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), ICU capacity will be at 30.3 percent in CA by February 21.
As of February 11, California recorded 45,456 deaths with nearly 45 million coronavirus tests administered. In addition, 5,291,493 vaccines have been given to residents.
