Feb 16, 2021 - Health

FEMA launches first COVID-19 mass vaccination sites

Ursula Perano

A COVID-19 vaccination site in Los Angeles last week. Photo: Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Tuesday launched its first mass COVID-19 vaccination sites in Los Angeles and Oakland, the AP reports.

Why it matters: The sites are going up as the Biden administration is working to speed up vaccine distributions. However, inclement weather throughout the U.S. is delaying vaccine deliveries and power outages forced officials in Texas to give out shots before they went bad.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that the U.S. is currently administering 1.67 million COVID-19 vaccines per day.
Approximately 38.3 million Americans — or about to 12% of the U.S. population — has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The big picture: The Biden administration is also boosting its vaccine efforts by upping the number of vaccines sent to states to 13.5 million doses per week, the AP notes. Biden was originally shooting for 1 million vaccine distributions per day but increased that goal in January to 1.5 million per day.

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FEMA launches first COVID-19 mass vaccination sites

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