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Disruptions in deliveries caused by the severe cold hitting much of the country are leading to shutdowns of mass vaccination sites in Orange County, officials said Thursday (February 18).
The Disneyland Super POD (distribution point) in Anaheim, located in one of the theme park’s parking lots, closed Thursday and will remain closed until Monday, pending delivery of more COVID-19 vaccines, reports said. county officials in a statement.
Patients with vaccine appointments from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday were initially turned away due to wind at the Disneyland tent site, according to a tweet from the Health Care Agency. The extended shutdown was later announced.
Another large-scale Soka University site in Aliso Viejo will remain open at least until Saturday to provide second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, but will not serve first-time visitors, the county CEO said. of Orange, Frank Kim.
A smaller site at Santa Ana College, which opened Wednesday, will keep appointments Thursday and Friday before a temporary shutdown that begins Saturday; no reopening date has been set, pending receipt of new Pfizer vaccines.
To reassure people whose second dose appointments could be pushed back, Kim said federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines say a second vaccine can be given safely and effectively for up to six weeks. after the first. (The second dose of Pfizer is recommended three weeks after the first, and the recommended interval between Moderna injections is four weeks.)
“We obviously don’t plan to extend those times that far,” Kim said, but for anyone whose second dose appointment is canceled or delayed, “you’re going to be top of our list and we’re going to get you. as quickly as possible. “
The launch of an Anaheim Convention Center site, slated for Wednesday, February 24, could also be postponed as opening depends on the supply of Moderna vaccines, officials said.
“The scheduled delivery of the Moderna vaccine on Tuesday, February 16 has not arrived. As a result, the Moderna vaccine inventory is very low. State guidelines encourage the distribution of all vaccines as quickly as possible and do not keep a large inventory in reserve, ”the county statement said.
“Anyone who has an appointment at the affected sites will receive a notification through Othena (the county appointment system) with information regarding rescheduled appointments,” the statement said.
Anyone with questions about whether their appointment is affected can check the Othena website, Othena.com or the mobile app, or call the county vaccine hotline at 714-834-2000.
Kim said he hoped more doses would arrive this weekend, and state officials told counties on Thursday afternoon they expected a vaccine shipment next week, but if nothing happens, Orange County may need to keep its PODs closed beyond Monday.
State Department of Public Health officials confirmed to a reporter on Thursday that California was among the states hit by vaccine shortages, but did not explain how distributions to counties and health networks operating in multiple counties would change in the short term.
Kaiser Permanente – one of Southern California’s largest suppliers – has so far administered about 339,000 of the 400,000 doses it has received for the region, said Dr. Michael Morris, medical director of the COVID vaccination program. -19 from Kaiser Permanente Southern California, in an email response via a spokesperson.
The remaining 15% of the doses are intended to “ensure” second doses, he said. “In order to immunize as many people as possible, we don’t strictly keep half of our vaccines secure for second doses, and we mostly borrow from future state vaccine allocations.”
Weekly allowances were reliably arriving as immunization efforts expanded statewide, he said. “This week, however, we have experienced delays in vaccine delivery due to bad weather conditions at UPS and FedEx hubs in the east, and we may have to reschedule some appointments.”
UCI Health’s vaccination campaign has also been affected by logistical delays, spokesman Tom Vasich said. State health officials have informed the University of California Health Department that some expected vaccines could arrive on Friday, while others would land next week instead.
“As such, the allocation of the Moderna vaccine by UCI Health will arrive tomorrow or early next week,” Vasich said Thursday. “We will be closely monitoring whether this delay affects future UCI Health vaccination clinics, and we will have a better idea of the impact by Monday morning.”
The snowy and frigid weather that crippled much of the United States delayed vaccine shipments and slowed or halted distribution in parts of southern California and across the country.
The Pasadena public health department had enough on hand this week to give people their second doses, but officials said the first doses are going to be very limited. Department director Dr Ying-Ying Goh said Wednesday officials hope they will have enough vaccines to resume giving the first doses by the first week of March. In Los Angeles, the delays affected five of the city’s mass vaccination sites, including the largest at Dodger Stadium, although others in the greater county area are not expected to be affected.
In New York, the city has had to delay 30,000 to 35,000 immunization appointments. In parts of the south, the weather forced sites to close.
“People are working as hard as they can,” said Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 coordinator, “given the importance of getting vaccines to states and providers, but there is an impact on them. deliveries. “
Editor Bradley Bermont and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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