Want to see Long Beach’s new mass vaccination site? Here’s a photographer’s view
1:21 PM Tuesday, January 19 | Long Beach kicked off the first day of its mass vaccination site at the Convention Center on Tuesday by hurrying about 1,800 people through the process.
As the site opened around 10 a.m. cars stretched through the Elephant Lot parking lot, but most patients reported getting finished quickly. Norma Stein said she took her 89-year-old mom, Lenor Delano, to get her shot and was in and out in about 30 minutes.
Most people arrived to get their shot at the drive-thru portion of the clinic, but a walk-up site was available, too, at the Terrace Theater.
Vaccinations are by appointment only. So city officials urged residents to check the city’s vaccine website to see if they are eligible yet and to sign up. The city hopes to soon ramp up the site to serve 3,000 people a day.
Vehicles line up in the queue as the Long Beach Convention Center becomes a mass vaccination site in Long Beach Monday, January 19, 2021. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
Vehicles line up in the Elephant Lot. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
Drivers make their way into the parking garage as officials check them in at the Long Beach Convention Center. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
Drivers check in for a COVID-19 vaccination. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
Jim Nesmith receives his COVID-19 vaccine from Andrea Ferreira. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
Walk-up patients wait outside the Terrance Theater. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
A patient at the walk-up site receives her COVID-19 vaccine at the Terrance Theater. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.
— Thomas Cordova
Cars line up for first vaccine doses distributed at Convention Center super site
10:24 AM Tuesday, January 19 | Cars were already lined—snaking through the parking lot—as crews started distributing shots at Long Beach’s mass vaccination site at the Convention Center this morning.
About 1,800 people are expected to come through today for COVID vaccines. The city was taking people in cars and people on foot on Pine Avenue by appointment only.
Cars come through the Long Beach Convention Center parking structure at a vaccine super site. Photo by Kelly Puente.
One of the earliest people through the line, Norma Stein, said she took her mom Lenor Delano, 89, to get her shot and was in and out in about 30 minutes. Stein said she got her shot at Disneyland last week and the Long Beach rollout was smoother by comparison.
“We’re looking forward to things getting back to normal, as much as they can,” she said.
When fully up and running, the vaccine super center is expected to handle about 3,000 people per day.
Motorists line up for COVID vaccines at the Long Beach Convention Center. Photo by Thomas. R. Cordova.
All appointments are currently filled, but the city says it will add more this week when it gets more vaccine doses. Long Beach typically gets shipments each Tuesday, but they don’t always know exactly how many they will get.
Cars are coming through the parking garage for the shot stations. Walk-ins are on Pine Avenue at the Convention Center main entrance. By appointment only! pic.twitter.com/P4mtF2RcXk
— Kelly Puente (@KellyPuenteLB) January 19, 2021
First car is almost ready to go in. pic.twitter.com/wLcQfgD799
— Kelly Puente (@KellyPuenteLB) January 19, 2021
— Kelly Puente
Long Beach is launching its vaccine super center today; here’s what to expect
7:30 AM Tuesday, January 19 | Long Beach on Tuesday morning is launching its COVID-19 vaccine super center in a Convention Center parking lot. It’s expected to be capable of inoculating around 3,000 people a day.
Long Beach Post journalists will be there all day today, reporting back for our live blog. See something we should be looking into? Email us at [email protected].
For now, here’s what we know about how the vaccination center will run:
The city will be distributing shots to eligible people with pre-booked appointments including those 65 and older, essential health care workers and food industry workers. The city plans to begin vaccinating educators next week.
The city is expected to hold a news conference at 11:30 a.m. to provide more details about the super center and the vaccination process.
Orange cones and cars at the Long Beach Convention Center parking lot on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2019. Photo by Kelly Puente.
This week, the city will also launch on online portal called VaxLB where residents can register for regular updates and notifications for when it’s their turn to receive the shot.
Residents are urged to first contact their health care provider or employer about eligibility. For more information call 562-570-4636, option 6, and leave a message or email [email protected] Officials said to expect about a one- to two-day response time due to the high volume of questions. There is also a list of frequently asked questions and other information on the city’s website.
Long Beach is one of just four California cities with its own health department (the others are Berkeley, Pasadena and Vernon), and officials said that has helped the city in a fast vaccine rollout compared to Los Angeles County, which has not yet begun vaccinating those 65 and older.
In Long Beach, more than 15,000 of the city’s critical health care workers and seniors have already been vaccinated as of last week.
“Having our own health department has been wonderful for us,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said, last week. “We know that it gives us the ability as our own health jurisdiction to make some of our own rules.”
— Kelly Puente
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