Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday the state has reached an agreement with Alameda and Contra Costa counties to continue using Oakland’s RingCentral Coliseum as a mass COVID-19 vaccination site.
The extension comes as no surprise, given comments alluding to a deal from Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Alex Padilla on Monday.
"We are proud to continue operations at the RingCentral Coliseum site with our local and federal partners," said Gov. Newsom. "I’d like to thank our partners for stepping up to support the Bay Area community, especially those hit hardest by this pandemic."
The site is expected to administer up to 6,000 vaccinations per day.
Keith Carson, President of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, said the site had already delivered more than 100,000 doses to Alameda County residents as of Tuesday.
The clinic, which opened as part of a federal pilot program, was originally supposed to be in operation only eight weeks. It was set to close on April 11, despite pleas from Bay Area officials to keep it running.
The two counties and the state will now manage the site together, according to a press release. The state will provide half of the vaccine supply while the other half will come from the two partner counties.
Prior to the agreement, the site was solely run by Cal OES with help from FEMA and received its vaccine supply from a special allocation.
The site will now continue to be able to provide "targeted support to some of the most diverse and socioeconomically challenged communities in the country," explained the governor's office.
"This partnership with the state and Alameda County will provide additional resources for mobile vaccine clinics that can go where we need them most," Diane Burgis, Chair of the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors added. "We are happy to be a part of keeping this important resource in the East Bay."
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