Orange County's Vaccination Plan: Supes Plan Large-Scale Sites

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — As coronavirus infections run rampant across Orange County and the state of California, local officials are working on a plan to help all hospitals vaccinate residents. According to Orange County's CEO, Frank Kim, medical workers are "swamped" caring for patients.

"We have to quickly work on a large-scale vaccination plan," Kim said Wednesday. "We can't rely on CVS, Walgreens, and the local hospital system. They're overwhelmed. We need to pitch in, and every county has been asked by the state to increase support for vaccine distribution. We hope to turn it into implementation very soon. We're very close to completing agreements on sites."

County officials are investigating large sites for vaccination centers, such as school gyms or parking lots, to be central vaccination locations.

"We want to do thousands" of inoculations a day, Kim said.

One issue is finding enough qualified medical workers to vaccinate residents, Kim said. Only nurses, doctors, and paramedics are authorized, but discussions are ongoing about expanding the types of qualified medical workers to provide vaccinations, he added.

A dispute erupted among county officials when Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer complained about when law enforcement officers were scheduled to receive the vaccine.

In a letter to Dr. Clayton Chau, its director, and the county's chief health officer, Spitzer accused the Health Care Agency of "not prioritizing frontline law enforcement... for first-tier vaccinations."

He added: "I also learned that dentists jumped over the police as a priority by the Vaccination Taskforce, an unbelievable development... This is an urgent matter that has been overwhelmed by bureaucratic red tape and, quite frankly, utter nonsense."

Chau responded that the agency was "following guidance from the federal as well as the (state's vaccine plan)."

Dentists have been placed by the state in Phase 1A Tier 3, while police are in Phase 1B Tier 1, but that it could be changed, Chau said.

"Because of the recent eruption in cases in correctional facilities, we have asked our Vaccine Taskforce for approval to move up the law enforcement teams in the correctional setting even though only correctional medical providers are part of Phase 1A Tier 2."

In a note to Spitzer, Orange County Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Andrew Do said he was "taken aback at the unprofessional manner in which you chose to express yourself" on the issue of law enforcement vaccinations.

Do says that Spitzer was wrong.

"The priorities as to who gets the vaccine is determined or set by the state," Do reported to the media. "This is not just a personal decision or a willy nilly decision made by Dr. Chau."

Kim said Wednesday a compromise has been worked out to push some law enforcement officers working beats that put them at heightened exposure to COVID-19 further up in line for vaccinations.

Officers working in areas with larger outbreaks, correctional facilities, homeless shelters will be moved up in line, Kim said.

The Orange County Jail's recent outbreak saw a decline on Wednesday with the number of infected inmates dropping from 1,154 to 1,120. The county is awaiting the results of 491 tests.

The number of hospitalized inmates decreased from five to four, according to Orange County Sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Breckner.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson, who is overseeing a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the county seeking to reduce the jail population to better conform with physical distancing guidelines, has ordered Sheriff Don Barnes to provide details of each inmate's charges, criminal history, and medical status by noon Thursday.

Wilson also allowed Santa Ana to intervene in the lawsuit. A hearing is scheduled Friday to go over Wilson's order to reduce the jail population by half, with Barnes claiming he has released as many lower-risk inmates as possible.

The County of Orange is proactively leading Orange County’s response to COVID-19. The next critical phase is providing the vaccine to residents in a phased, tiered approach.

“The County of Orange, together with our partners at the Orange County Fire Authority, launched ‘Operation Independence’ to help administer COVID-19 vaccinations in the county. In order to coordinate the planning for this massive undertaking, the County has created an Incident Management Team (IMT). The Operation Independence IMT will be working 7 days a week to secure locations and stand up large, regional Super Point-of-Dispensing (POD) sites that can vaccinate thousands of residents each day,” said Acting Chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors Andrew Do, First District.

The County’s effort, named Operation Independence, has the objective of setting up regional vaccine points of dispensing (POD). Due to the scope and size of these PODs, based on the high demand for vaccines, these sites are being referred to as County Super PODs. The Super PODs are expected to dispense thousands of vaccines each day once they are fully operational.

“Establishing the Operation Independence IMT will reduce and eliminate barriers to vaccine access for Orange County’s residents,” said Supervisor Donald P. Wagner, Third District. “This is important for the taxpayers we serve as it enables us to maintain fiscal accountability and avoid duplication of efforts at the City level.”

The County is anticipating the need for at least five Super PODs that will be brought online as they are approved, staffed, and have COVID-19 vaccines available. The location of the County Super POD sites are in development and will be announced as they are finalized. Once finalized, the County Super POD sites will be opened in a phased approach and will be located regionally throughout Orange County.

“I’m pleased that the Operation Independence IMT will eliminate potential waste of the vaccine and keep the community informed by providing coordinated communications among all agencies, authorities, stakeholders and the public,” said Supervisor Doug Chaffee, Fourth District.

Currently, vaccinations are being provided to Orange County residents and those who work in Orange County that fall within Phase 1a, all tiers. Vaccines will be dispensed at County Super PODs only to Orange County residents and those who work in Orange County who qualify. A vaccine will not be delivered unless identification and documentation of vaccine eligibility are presented at the site. To view a list of who is eligible to receive a vaccine, visit the OC Health Care Agency website https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/phased-approach-vaccine-distribution.

“I strongly encourage residents to visit www.COVIDVaccineFacts.com for the latest information on who is currently eligible to receive the vaccination, and learn the facts about the vaccines’ safety and efficacy. The County and our partners have engaged in annual POD exercises to ensure we are ready to quickly distribute vaccines throughout Orange County,” said Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, Fifth District.

An Incident Management Team (IMT) was established on December 31, 2020 for Operation Independence. The Operation Independence IMT is a unified command with representatives from the Orange County Health Care Agency, the Orange County Fire Authority, the County of Orange County Executive Office (CEO) and other County agencies.

For questions related to COVID-19, visit http://www.ochealthinfo.com/novelcoronavirus, or follow the HCA on Facebook (@ochealthinfo) and Twitter (@ochealth).

City News Service, Patch Staffer Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.