All Long Beach residents at least 16 years old now have a chance to receive the coronavirus vaccine, city officials announced Thursday, a week ahead of the state’s timeline.
Those 16 and older who work in Long Beach but are not residents of the city will also be eligible to get the vaccine in the city starting April 15, Mayor Robert Garcia said.
“With over 40% of eligible adults vaccinated and a successful vaccination program, it’s time to expand to all residents 16 and over,” Garcia said in a statement. “I’m proud that we can once again set the pace for the state.”
Healthy residents 49 years old and younger, however, won’t be able to make appointments until April 15 since the city of Long Beach uses the state’s MyTurn system, which is based on statewide standards and does acknowledge city- or county-level eligibility expansion.
Residents 16 and up who are seeking to get vaccinated can use the city’s walk-up system without an appointment at the Long Beach Convention Center, officials said.
City officials said a limited supply of the Pfzier vaccine will be available on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 8 through April 10. If the facility runs out of doses for the day while folks are still in line, residents will be able to make an appointment on-site for another day.
The Long Beach Convention Center is open for walk-ups from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Based on eligibility, roughly 500 doses will be for walk-up appointments per day, according to a news release.
Residents who show up without appointments should follow the signs for walk-ups, which is ADA accessible, officials stated.
Previously, vaccines were only available to those identified in Phase 1A, Phase 1B, Tier 1, individuals with disabilities and adults ages 50 years and older in the city.
Thursday’s eligibility expansion in Long Beach comes as the city’s vaccination program continues to make progress.
As of Thursday, the city had administered roughly 229,000 vaccines, which includes approximately 138,700 first doses and 90,300 second doses.
That means more than 43% of the city’s eligible adults, which is more than 163,000 residents, have received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Thursday, the Long Beach Post reports.
More information on vaccine eligibility, appointments and walk-up instructions can be found at longbeach.gov/VaxLB.