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- Disneyland Resort will turn into a mass vaccination site to vaccinate thousands of Southern Californians, government officials said Monday.
- Anaheim Theme Park typically has an average daily attendance of 50,000 people, but has been closed since mid-March due to coronavirus restrictions.
- The first people to be offered an appointment for a vaccine at Disneyland Resort later this week will be essential workers, and those over the age of 70.
- Orange County plans to have all of its residents vaccinated before Independence Day.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
Disneyland Resort will become a mass vaccination site where thousands of Southern Californians can get vaccinated against COVID-19, local government officials said Monday.
The theme park, closed since March, is set to become Orange County’s first “Super” distribution point (POD) later this week, Orange County officials said in a statement.
The Anaheim site will be one of five Super PODs where residents of Orange County can get vaccinated to protect themselves against COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The other four sites are not yet finalized.
The first people to be offered an appointment for a vaccine at the Disney theme park will be essential workers and people over the age of 70.
“It is important to vaccinate as many willing people as possible against COVID-19, and we need the space to do so,” said Orange County Supervisor Donald P. Wagner, representing the Third District.
“Residents of my district have been severely affected by COVID-19. These Super PODs are absolutely essential in stopping this deadly virus, ”said Orange County Supervisor Doug Chaffee, representing the Fourth District.
More than 2,000 people have died from the virus in Orange County and around 86,000 of its 3.1 billion people are currently infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Disneyland Resort – a foundational business for the region – was forced to close in mid-March due to coronavirus restrictions in California. The popular theme park had an average daily attendance of 50,000 people before the pandemic.
Its closure contributed to Disney’s first quarterly loss in nearly 20 years in August, of $ 4.72 billion. Disney laid off 28,000 employees at its US company in September to minimize costs.
Vaccinating people could be beneficial to Disneyland Resort as it might be able to reopen if the community’s infection rates are low.
“Disneyland Resort is proud to help support Orange County and the City of Anaheim with the use of our property, and we are grateful for all of their efforts to fight COVID-19,” said Pamela Hymel , Disney Parks chief medical officer, to Reuters on Tuesday.
Orange County plans to complete all county vaccinations by July 4 – Independence Day 2021.
“The coronavirus has caused both a public health crisis and economic devastation,” said Harry Sidhu, Mayor of Anaheim.
“With this great site, we will start to overcome both. Every vaccination done in Anaheim will help save lives and speed up the reopening and recovery of our city,” he added.
“Disneyland Resort is proud to help support Orange County and the City of Anaheim with the use of our property, and we are grateful for all of their efforts to fight COVID-19,” said Pamela Hymel , Disney Parks chief medical officer, to Reuters on Tuesday.
Orange County plans to complete all vaccinations by July 4 – Independence Day 2021.
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