California to Use Disneyland as COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Site

Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, Calif., on July 9, 2020. Derek Lee/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images

The parking lot of Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, will soon serve as the first Super Point-of-Dispensing (POD) site for COVID-19 vaccines in Orange County, officials said Monday.

Orange County said that the resort, which has been mainly shuttered since the onset of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic in March, will likely become operational later this week.

It’s one of five sites to be set up to vaccinate thousands of people daily, county officials said.

“The Disneyland Resort, the largest employer in the heart of Orange County, has stepped up to host the county’s first Super POD site—undertaking a monumental task in our vaccination distribution process,” acting Chairman Andrew Do, First District, said in a statement.

The news came as California’s COVID-19 death toll reached 30,000 on Monday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

The sites are “absolutely critical in stopping this deadly virus,” county Supervisor Dough Chaffee said in a statement.

The state will vastly expand its effort with new mass vaccination sites at parking lots for Los Angeles County’s Dodger Stadium, Petco Park in San Diego, and the CalExpo fairgrounds in Sacramento.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants gather on the field before their game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 23, 2020. Harry How/Getty Images

Cars lined up early Monday near the downtown stadium in San Diego, where officials aimed to inoculate 5,000 health care workers a day.

“It’s kind of like a Disneyland ride” with cars moving through, said Heather Buschman, spokeswoman for UC San Diego Health, whose medical staff was administering the shots. She said people seemed eager to be vaccinated, with more than 12,500 health care workers in San Diego County initially scheduling an appointment.

“It’s important to vaccinate as many willing people as possible for COVID-19, and we need the space to do it,” Supervisor Donald P. Wagner, Third District, said in the county’s statement. “I thank Disneyland Resort and the City of Anaheim for stepping up in the shared effort to give OC residents protection against the virus.”

The vaccination site at the Anaheim resort will follow California guidelines in issuing COVID-19 jabs to individuals who fall under “Phase 1a,” which recently expanded to include those aged 75 and above.

“Coronavirus has brought both a public health crisis and economic devastation,” Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu said. “With this super site, we will begin to overcome both. Every vaccination done in Anaheim will help to save lives and speed the reopening and recovery of our city.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.