California to open federal backed vaccine centers

California is joining with the federal government to open two new vaccination centers as test areas for new President Joseph Biden’s effort to create 100 mass vaccination sites nationwide in 100 days, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.

The sites at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum and California State University, Los Angeles, will be jointly run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

The move comes as California's most deadly pandemic surge eases but as the state struggles with vaccine shortages and bureaucratic headaches in a race to vaccinate a sometimes bewildering array of the most vulnerable.

The new sites are scheduled to open Feb. 16 for eligible members of the public, who will be able to sign up for vaccine appointments using the state’s MyTurn scheduling system.

Newsom promoted the new sites as part of the larger effort to target communities that might otherwise be left behind.

Each will have two mobile vaccination clinics that can be sent to different locations to help vaccinate people in other areas that otherwise might not be targeted.

The sites were picked because they are in what Newsom's administration called some of the nation's most diverse and poor areas.

His administration also said they are home to people who have been disproportionately harmed by the virus - including essential employees who have continued to go to workplaces during the pandemic.

FEMA will provide resources and federal employees to create the new vaccination centers and support to operate them once they are running. Doses administered there will not reduce the host county's allotment, Newsom's office said.

Acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton in a statement called the opening of the sites "a significant step forward in the ongoing effort to ensure every American who wants a vaccine will receive a vaccine.”

The number of new virus cases reported Tuesday was just over 12,000, the lowest daily figure since November. In early January, daily counts routinely were above 40,000.

California has recorded more than 41,000 deaths - putting it only behind New York among states - but even that pace may be starting to fall. After averaging 544 daily deaths last week, the last three daily counts have averaged 371.

Meanwhile, the state of nearly 40 million residents is working to smooth out a bumpy rollout of COVID-19 vaccines that was marked by too few doses and differing county rules for who was immediately eligible to receive them.

California still lags other U.S. states in vaccinations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and desperate residents report ongoing problems trying to schedule appointments.