The San Francisco 49ers on Friday announced they’ll partner with the County of Santa Clara to turn Levi’s Stadium into California’s largest COVID-19 vaccination site.
According to a release from the team, the site will be operational within a week of the announcement, and that early vaccinations will number up to 5,000 per day. Initial plans are to see that number increase to 15,000 per day once the vaccine supply allows for it. The County of Santa Clara Healthy System will staff and operate the Levi’s Stadium site.
49ers president Al Guido on Jan. 22 tweeted that the stadium met the county’s requirements to operate as a vaccination site. The official agreement was reached two weeks later.
“We recognize the urgent need for an effective and equitable vaccination effort for our community and are proud to partner with the County of Santa Clara to bring this vaccination site online as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Guido said in a statement. “We have brought every resource at our disposal to bear on this challenge to ensure members of the community we live in each and every day can be vaccinated safely and quickly.”
It wasn’t long ago the county was kicking the 49ers out of Levi’s Stadium in order to help curb spikes in COVID-19 cases in the South Bay. The decision to ban the practice and playing of contact sports forced the team to uproot and move to Arizona for the final month of the season.
The two sides put away their earlier disagreements to help get the vaccination site up and operational.
“The only way we are going to get through this pandemic is together, which is why I am pleased to see this collaborative approach to get our residents vaccinated at scale,” Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg said. “Our County has a history of leading and opening California’s largest vaccination site in partnership with the 49ers is just another example of this.”
Another County Supervisor, Cindy Chavez echoed a similar sentiment.
“The 49ers are always willing to show up for our community in good times and in trying times. They fully understand the needs of Santa Clara County and the importance of efficient, fast and equitable distribution of the vaccine to our residents. They know how to make it work at Levi’s Stadium. “The 49ers have been a bright spot to so many of our residents throughout the pandemic and we applaud them for this partnership.”
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