MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Anti-vaxxers shut down vaccination site at LA Dodger Stadium, call people lab rats: 'This is the weirdest shit'

The group of people shouted 'you are lab rats' at elderly patients who were queuing to get their vaccines at the Elysian Park stadium park

A vaccination center at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles was forced to shut down temporarily after it was stormed by anti-vaxxers. The group of people, who deny the seriousness of Covid-19, or even its existence, shouted "you are lab rats" at elderly patients who were queuing to get their vaccines at the Elysian Park stadium park on January 30. This disruption caused the gates to be temporarily closed to the vaccination center, and the gang brandished signs that read messages such as 'end the lockdown' and 'covid-scam'. Hundreds of vaccine patients, who had been queuing for an hour, were forced to wait in their cars during the protest chaos. The LA Fire Department closed the gates around 2 pm as a 'precaution', according to officials. The demonstrators came from anti-vaccine and far-right groups and though there were no acts of violence, they were allegedly hurling abuses at citizens who were waiting for their jabs. 

Los Angeles Police Department arrived at the scene to break the protest. German Jaquez, a dentist who drove from his home in La Verne, had already been waiting an hour for his vaccination when the gates were closed. He said some of the anti-vaxxers were telling people in the queue that "coronavirus is not real and the vaccination is dangerous". "This is completely wrong. This is the wrong message," he told Los Angeles Times. He added, “I’ve been waiting for weeks to get an appointment. I am a dentist; I am taking a big risk being around patients. I want to be safe for my patients and for my family. The vaccine is the only way to beat the virus.”

Mikel Jollett, an author from Silver Lake, took to Twitter and wrote: "We're at the mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium to get my mom the vaccine. The anti-vax protestors have approached the entrance to the site." He added, "The LAPD have now closed the gate. We have been sitting here for about half an hour. Nobody is moving." He further added, "This is the weirdest shit." 

Social media was shocked on hearing the news. "This is madness. If you believe some crazy shit about vaccines, don't get one. But what gives them the right to stop others? And these are the "personal freedom" people?" one wrote. "Why are they protesting? They don’t have to be vaccinated, what’s their point of trying to stop others?" another tweeted. "Absolutely ridiculous. They need to put up an ordinance that people can't protest within a certain distance of the stadium while the vaccination program is ongoing," one tweeted.

One protester was heard telling a man who was in his car with a dog in the back: "Like sheep running to their death. Your dog is smarter than you."

Earlier this month it was declared that officials were planning on vaccinating up to 12,000 a day once the site was fully up and running. The site is open from 8 am to 8 pm and is one of the largest in the country. Mayor Eric Garcetti had said earlier, “Vaccines are the surest route to defeating this virus and charting a course to recovery, so the city, county, and our entire team are putting our best resources on the field to get Angelenos vaccinated as quickly, safely, and efficiently as possible." A post on social media described the protest as a "Scamdemic protest/march", according to The Sun. It told followers to "refrain from wearing Trump/MAGA attire as we want our statement to resonate with the sheeple. No flags but informational signs only."