Levi’s Stadium will soon become the largest COVID-19 vaccination site in California. On Friday, Santa Clara County Public Health announced that it hopes to have the site open by Feb. 9. Initially, up to 5,000 people per day will be vaccinated at Levi’s Stadium. The county plans to increase capacity to up to 15,000 people per day as more vaccines become available.
“We appreciate the 49ers stepping up during this difficult time and providing valuable space and resources in the fight against COVID-19,” said Mike Wasserman, President of the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors in a news release. “Sports binds communities together and the 49ers helping to vaccinate our community shows true leadership and winning teamwork.”
“We recognize 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,” said 49ers President Al Guido in a news release. “We have brought every resource at our disposal to bear on this challenge to ensure members of the community we live in each and every day can be vaccinated safely and quickly.”
The County of Santa Clara Health System will staff and operate the site with the 49ers providing non-clinical staffing support. The 49ers staff has worked with Santa Clara County Public Health to get Levi’s Stadium ready.
“County Health System staff and 49ers staff have engaged in intensive planning to ensure that the site will be ready to go for the vaccine clinic launch next week,” said a spokesperson for Santa Clara County Public Health. “The operational plan leverages the County’s experience setting up similar mass vaccination sites, and will be adjusted as needed once the site is up and running.”
“The only way we are going to get through this pandemic is together, which is why I am pleased to see this collaborative approach to get our residents vaccinated at scale,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg in a news release. “Our County has a history of leading and opening California’s largest vaccination site in partnership with the 49ers is just another example of this.”
Part of the planning includes making sure that there is minimal impact on the businesses and homes around Levi’s Stadium.
“The County and the 49ers have engaged in intensive planning to manage traffic and parking. Given that vaccine appointments stretch over many hours, we do not anticipate significant traffic impacts,” said the Santa Clara County Public Health spokesperson.
Levi’s Stadium is one of several mass vaccination sites being set up in California. On Feb. 3, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that Oakland Coliseum and California State University, Los Angeles would be set up as mass vaccination sites as part of a pilot partnership with the Biden-Harris Administration. The Coliseum is expected to offer approximately 6,000 vaccines a day.
On Feb. 4, Santa Clara County Public Health announced that vaccines would be available to all persons 65 years and older. To find out how to schedule an appointment to receive a vaccine, visit www.sccfreevax.org.
