Orange County's Vaccination Dispensing Sites To Close June 5

ORANGE COUNTY, CA —Orange County announced Thursday that they will close their vaccination super point of dispensing sites. The County of Orange will close its Super POD sites at the Anaheim Convention Center, OC Fair & Event Center, and Soka University, as well as at Santa Ana College, on June 6, 2021, and shift operations to an expanding network of robust mobile PODs.

As of May 2, there are 1,159,820 total residents who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus in Orange County out of the county's 3.2 million residents, the county reports.

The demand for first-dose COVID-19 vaccinations through the Othena platform at County Super Point-of-Dispensing (POD) sites have dropped by over 75% since the end of April, according to County CEO Frank Kim.

The Point of Dispensing sites have worked, according to Kim. County residents who wanted the vaccines and do not face difficulty traveling have, for the most part, been able to do so, he says. Now, it is time to get into communities, meeting residents where they live and overcoming last-minute obstacles to getting vaccinated.

READ: Othena Fail: Vaccination Scheduling App Slammed By OC Supervisors

Orange County Health Care Agency is now focusing on "more community and neighborhood-based vaccination strategies," Kim says. "This will mean working to overcome vaccine resistance and creating more mobile PODs, with greater outreach, to make vaccination more convenient for people to get vaccinated where they live, work and play."

The County of Orange and its partners at the Orange County Fire Authority launched ‘Operation Independence’ in January of 2021.

The HCA organized an Incident Management Team along with community and city partners, as well as representatives from Orange County law enforcement and fire departments, to stand up and staff Super POD sites to administer vaccines to thousands of Orange County (OC) residents and workers each day.

The Super PODs were intended to administer higher quantities of COVID-19 vaccines quickly and efficiently, even if the appointment system suffered some flaws. Rolling out vaccines to those over 75-years-old, then over 65-, has been overarchingly successful, the county says.

With less demand for the vaccines since April, the supply has become more plentiful and alternative distribution channels, such as local pharmacies, hospitals, health care systems, community clinics, and providers, are more actively administering doses throughout OC, Kim says. Consequently, the County has seen a decrease in demand, as also experienced in many regions nationwide.

The last Moderna, first-dose appointments will be offered at County Super PODs on May 8, 2021. The last Pfizer, first-dose appointments will be offered at County Super PODs on May 15, 2021. The HCA will continue to meet all second-dose obligations.

All County Super and community PODs will offer a one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine immediately through close of business on June 5, 2021.

Community members are encouraged to access the schedule of upcoming mobile PODs by calling the OC COVID-19 Hotline at (714) 834-2000 or by registering and logging in to their account in the Othena platform at www.Othena.com. Mobile PODs will accommodate both appointments and walk-ins based on vaccine availability.

On Thursday, only 38 new coronavirus cases were logged in Orange County, and another 13 deaths were reported due to COVID-19. There are currently 91 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, and of those, 23 are listed as in Intensive Care Units. Hospitalization numbers have dropped by over 11 percent in the past week, OC Health Care reports.

Though 13 deaths due to coronavirus were reported Thursday, no one in Orange County has died of the disease since April 22, according to Orange County Health Care.