Manhattan Beach, South Bay Educators Get First Vaccines through BCHD
Mar 03, 2021 06:38PM ● By Jeanne FratelloPerry Guerrero, left, an occupational therapist at Pacific Elementary and Manhattan Beach Middle School; and Julie Brancato, a kindergarten teacher at Grand View Elementary, receive their first vaccinations at Adventureplex in Manhattan Beach on Wednesday.
L.A. County and Manhattan Beach officials were on hand to celebrate the new operation, and to witness the first vaccine given to a local educator.
(Manhattan Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Tyler Wade administered the vaccine.)
The vaccination center - which is the result of a massive South Bay-wide collaborative effort between public school districts, city officials, and the Beach Cities Health District - has received 1200 doses of vaccines for this week.
It will distribute 400 doses per day (Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday) to educators in 11 districts. Manhattan Beach received an allotment of 90 doses for the week.
Vaccines a Symbol of Return to School
At Wednesday's event, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn praised the Adventureplex operation as a "model" for providing a localized center where educators could receive their vaccinations.
Site Running Smoothly
The AdventurePlex site appeared to be running very smoothly on Wednesday, with educators moving through a socially-distanced line outside, into the building and past the famous indoor play structure, and through to designated vaccination stations in the gymnasium.
Newly vaccinated teachers waited on the other side of the gym for 20 minutes under supervision by health staff to make sure that there were no allergic reactions. Then the educators left out the back door and into the parking lot.
Behind the scenes, nurses were working to fill the vaccines in one room, while in another room school representatives from different districts were coordinating appointment schedules.
(At Wednesday night's school board meeting, MBUSD Superintendent Mike Matthews patched in Executive Assistant Heather Hoffman from onsite at Adventureplex as she continued to manage MBUSD vaccination schedules.)
Beach Cities Health District CEO Tom Bakaly told DigMB that the Adventureplex operation had the capacity to deliver up to 800 vaccines per day. "It's just a matter of getting the doses," he said.