Yahoo Finance Dodger Stadium's COVID-19 vaccination site shut down after protesters crowd entrance
The mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium was reportedly shut down for about an hour on Saturday after a group of anti-vaccination protesters gathered around the entrance to the stadium’s parking lots.
Authorities at the scene reportedly responded to the arrival of the protesters — estimated to be around 30 in number — by closing off the facility, leaving hundreds of drivers and passengers to wait in line outside the stadium.
We’re at the mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium to get my mom the vaccine. The anti–vax protestors have approached the entrance to the site. The LAPD have now closed the gate. We have been sitting here for about half an hour. Nobody is moving. pic.twitter.com/GrJPA5wrqx
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) January 30, 2021
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Fire Department closed the entrance to the stadium around 2 p.m. as precaution. One witness at the scene tweeted his car was eventually allowed in at 2:53 p.m. once the protesters stepped aside when police reinforcements arrived.
The LAPD later tweeted that all scheduled vaccines will be delivered despite the delay, and clarified it wasn’t them who closed the gates. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also responded to the incident, saying the state wouldn’t be deterred or threatened from delivering vaccines.
CA is working around the clock to provide life-saving vaccines to those on the frontlines of this pandemic.
We will not be deterred or threatened.
Dodger Stadium is back up and running. https://t.co/5Yu9qqjO2K— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 31, 2021
Among the protesters were members of anti-vaccine and far-right groups, per the Times, with signs urging people to not get the vaccine. The group reportedly went out of their way to avoid political apparel:
A post on social media described the demonstration as the “SCAMDEMIC PROTEST/MARCH.” It advised participants to “please refrain from wearing Trump/MAGA attire as we want our statement to resonate with the sheeple. No flags but informational signs only.
“This is a sharing information protest and march against everything COVID, Vaccine, PCR Tests, Lockdowns, Masks, Fauci, Gates, Newsom, China, digital tracking, etc.”
One of the protesters apparently livestreamed the incident, which can be seen here. One witness told the Times that the protesters were baselessly telling people in line that the the coronavirus is not real and the vaccine is dangerous.
Typically operating from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Dodger Stadium is one of the largest vaccination sites in the country — if not the largest — and is capable of administering more than 7,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine a day.
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