After a group of protesters managed to disrupt operations at Dodger Stadium’s mass COVID-19 vaccination site Saturday, some Los Angeles officials expressed fury at the demonstrators while calling for increased security at testing and vaccination installations.
Los Angeles Fire Department officials closed the main entrance to the stadium — one of the largest vaccination sites in the country — for about an hour Saturday after 40 to 60 demonstrators appeared on Stadium Way holding signs that decried masks while shouting unfounded claims about the dangers of the vaccine.
The group dispersed around 3 p.m., and there were no arrests or injuries reported, said LAFD Assistant Chief Ellsworth Fortman, who oversees the department’s COVID-19 response. Fortman said approximately 5,740 doses of the vaccine were issued Saturday at the site, which distributes 5,700 to 7,700 doses daily. Workers were still vaccinating people inside the stadium during the hour that the main entrance was closed, he said.
Both fire and police officials have said that the group was nonviolent and that the decision to close the entrance to the facility was a precaution. The protest left several city leaders infuriated, with some questioning why police weren’t more aggressive toward demonstrators, contending the LAPD has been more proactive in quashing anti-police or Black Lives Matter protests.
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