Hundreds of cars were stopped at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium on Saturday after the coronavirus vaccination Super site temporarily closed due to a few dozen anti-vaccination protesters, the mayor’s office confirmed on Sunday. The site was closed for about 55 minutes, but no appointment was canceled, said Andrea Garcia, from Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office.
“LA’s vaccinations at Dodger Stadium were stopped for 55 minutes by protesters on Saturday,” said Garcia by email. “The LAPD responded and the site resumed operations. No consultation was affected. We remain committed to vaccinating Angelenos as quickly and safely as possible.”
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore tweeted on Saturday afternoon that they were “working with our public security partners to ensure that everyone with an appointment gets the vaccine today.”
A live video of the protests showed them carrying signs that read phrases like “GO BACK NOW”, “My rights do not end where your fear begins” and “COVID = SCAM”.
California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted on Saturday night: “We will not be deterred or threatened”.
Damian Dovarganes / AP
A man who was waiting in line for an hour told the Los Angeles Times that protesters told him that the coronavirus is not real and that vaccines are dangerous.
“This is completely wrong,” German Jaquez told the LA Times. “This is the wrong message. I have been waiting for weeks to get an appointment. I am a dentist; I am at great risk being close to patients. I want to be safe for my patients and my family. The vaccine is the only way to beat the virus. ”
Meanwhile, allocations for the COVID-19 vaccine continue to follow demand, with Los Angeles County expecting to receive about 188,000 doses next week, reports CBS LA. Many of them, however, will be needed to give a second injection to people who have already received the first dose of the two-dose regimen.
By the end of last week, the municipality had received a total of 853,650 doses. He received about 143,900 doses this week, bringing the total to almost 1 million.
Although the rate of positivity declined in the hard-hit LA County, there were more than 6,000 new cases reported on Friday, the last day of data available from the county’s health department. There have been more than 1.1 million COVID-19 cases reported in the region, and scientists estimated earlier this month that 1 in 3 Los Angeles residents has been infected with the coronavirus since the pandemic began.