The coronavirus vaccination is administered to older residents at a vaccination super site at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
A new mass coronavirus vaccination site at Cal Poly Pomona opened on Friday, Feb. 5, with nearly 500 people expected to receive a dose as part of a soft-launch.
The site will begin on a smaller scale and ramp up slowly, with 1,000 vaccines expected to be administered on Saturday and 1,500 on Sunday, according to an email Friday from Dr. Michael E. Morris, physician director of Kaiser’s Southern California vaccination program. The state has provided an initial shipment of 42,000 doses for first shots and booster shots, enough to vaccinate 21,000 people, he added.
Prioritization at the site will be for those 75 and older but will expand as additional vaccine supply becomes available, and as California adjusts its target population groups. The site is open to all California residents, including Kaiser Permanente members and non-members.
The coronavirus vaccination is administered to older residents at a vaccination super site at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Cesareo Aguirre, 79, receives a shot of Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 from nurse Jon Knudsen, left, while being comforted by son Oliver Aguirre at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
A healthcare worker prepares a dose Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Phan Phung receives a dose of Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Pharmacist Derenik Gharibian prepares a dose Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Senior residents and family members enter the line to check in to get their vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Hermila Ruiz, 73, keeps her eyes close while receiving her first dose of Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Empty syringes seen on a table as healthcare workers prepares doses Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
The COVID-19 vaccination is administered to seniors at a mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Francis Chan, 69, of La Mirada, receives a dose of Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Cal Poly Pomona opens a coronavirus mass vaccination center at the Pomona campus on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Pharmacist Derenik Gharibian, center, shows a team of pharmacist how to prepare doses Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
A healthcare worker holds a vile of Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Pharmacists prepare doses of Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Cesareo Aguirre, 79, right, waits in a waiting area with son son Oliver Aguirre after receiving a dose of Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
People check-in to receiving their vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Pharmacist Derenik Gharibian prepares a dose Pfizer/Biontech vaccine against COVID-19 at the coronavirus mass vaccination center at Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Eventually, the site could accommodate up to 10,000 vaccinations a day, depending on availability of doses, officials have said.
“This new community mass vaccination hub is another step in the right direction, as we make vaccinations more accessible to further protect public health,” Dr. Ramin Davidoff, executive medical director for the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, said in a news release Friday.
Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval, who was on hand to speak at a ceremony marking the opening of the site, said the new operation means more access to the vaccine for residents in the Pomona Valley. The campus becomes the second major vaccination site in the city of Pomona, joining Fairplex, which opened its center in January along with four other mass-vaccine sites in Los Angeles County.
“We’re excited to have this second site, which is even bigger than the Fairplex, for our residents that live relativity close,” Sandoval said by phone Friday afternoon. “We need to bring this vaccine closer into our neighborhoods for people that may not have access.”
Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily in Cal Poly’s parking structure No. 2, appointments are available on the California Department of Public Health’s My Turn website. “Stand-by” appointments will not be permitted.
The site is also served by a public bus stop, so those without access to a vehicle can visit the vaccination center. Those who drive to the site will be directed to specific parking areas and will be able walk into the vaccination area.
