California joins feds in bid to speed coronavirus vaccines

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — 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 that the sites at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum and California State University, Los Angeles, will be jointly run with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The move comes as California’s most deadly pandemic surge eases but as the state struggles with vaccine shortages in a race to vaccinate the most vulnerable.

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