Hundreds of cars were backed up at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday after the coronavirus vaccination the super site was temporarily closed due to a few dozen protesters against vaccination, the mayor’s office confirmed on Sunday. The site was closed for about 55 minutes, but no appointments were canceled, said Andrea Garcia of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office.
“City of Los Angeles vaccinations at Dodger Stadium were interrupted for 55 minutes by protesters on Saturday,” Garcia said in an email. “The LAPD responded and the site resumed operations. The appointments were not affected. We remain committed to vaccinating Angelenos as quickly and safely as possible.”
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore tweeted Saturday afternoon that he “worked with our public safety partners to make sure everyone who has an appointment gets the vaccine today.”
A live video of the protests showed them carrying placards containing phrases like “BACK NOW”, “My rights don’t end where your fear begins” and “COVID = SCAM”.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted Saturday night, “We won’t be deterred or threatened.”
Damian Dovarganes / AP
A man who was waiting an hour on the line told the Los Angeles Times that protesters told him the coronavirus is not real and that the vaccines are dangerous.
“This is completely wrong,” German Jaquez told the LA Times. “That’s the wrong message. I’ve been waiting weeks for an appointment. I’m a dentist; I have a high risk of being by patients’ side. I want to be safe for my patients and my family. The vaccine is the only one. way to beat the virus “.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccine allocations continue to track demand, and Los Angeles County expects to receive approximately 188,000 doses next week, CBS LA reports. Many of these, however, will be needed to administer second shots to people who have already received the first dose of the two-dose regimen.
By the end of last week, the county had received a total of 853,650 doses. An estimated 143,900 doses were received this week, bringing the total to nearly 1 million.
Although the positivity rate has been declining in the harsh city of Los Angeles County, there were more than 6,000 new cases reported on Friday, data from the last day were available from the U.S. Department of Health. county. There have been more than 1.1 million cases of COVID-19 in the region, and scientists estimated earlier this month that 1 in 3 Los Angeles residents has been infected with the coronavirus since it began. pandemic.