CORONADO, Calif. (KGTV) — Coronado is the seventh vaccine site to open in San Diego County, using firefighter-paramedics who've been trained to administer vaccines, along with Sharp medical personnel.
"Currently, today's clinic will offer 250 today our goal is to increase those numbers dramatically so that when the additional tiers open we'll be able to see many more people," says Susan Stone, of Sharp Coronado Hospital.
Registrations are required for a vaccination appointment and the site will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., except for the upcoming holiday on Monday.
The new site is part of the push throughout California to get more large sites up and running to vaccinate residents. Orange County announced it will start giving shots to anyone 65+ — at sites like Disneyland, which will be a super-station, much like Petco Park and Dodger Stadium. These sites expect to start processing thousands of people per day, with Gov. Gavin Newsom promising others would be up and running this week.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly recently announced that in two weeks, states will start getting prioritized based on their distribution progress and Gov. Newsom has asked for an "all hands on deck" approach.
The governor's goal is to have a million Californians vaccinated by this weekend. But one of the biggest challenges is finding enough personnel to staff and give the shots.
The Coronado site is only giving vaccinations to people who fall in Phase 1A and appointments can be made on the county's website, just as with all seven sites that are currently open, while additional sites are expected to open in other parts of the county in the future.