Disneyland will transition into a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination hub with the reopening of a second super point of distribution (POD) in Anaheim, an Orange County supervisor says.
“It is my understanding that the Disney super POD site would be going into a drive-thru-only operation,” Supervisor Lisa Bartlett told The Epoch Times on Feb. 18.
“We found that it’s very difficult for certain individuals in wheelchairs and walkers to park or get parked, and then have to go any substantial distance from their vehicles to the actual vaccination site. By having the drive-thru access for those that are in walkers and wheelchairs, it just makes it so much more convenient.”
A second mass vaccination site in Anaheim—Orange County’s most populous city—will serve as a walk-up inoculation center. The Anaheim Convention Center will begin immunizing patients on Feb. 24.
Disneyland has injected vaccines into 150,000 arms since its opening, and Anaheim’s mayor said Anaheim has been at the forefront of protecting people from the virus.
“Anaheim has led the way in Orange County with vaccinations,” Mayor Harry Sidhu said in a press release. “These two sites will provide more options for Anaheim residents to get vaccinated where they live, while also serving people from across Orange County. Vaccines given in Anaheim will help save lives and allow us to get our theme parks, convention center, and sports venues opened when the time is right.”
The convention center has been closed since last March, and has since last July been serving as Orange County’s largest COVID-19 testing site. The city said testing will continue on the southwest side of the facility; vaccinations will be given on its northeast side.
Orange County’s third super POD opened at Aliso Viejo’s Soka University on Jan. 23.
The county opened a smaller vaccination site on Feb. 17 at Santa Ana City College, which has the capacity to administer up to 1,000 doses a day.
Vaccination efforts are steadily improving, said Supervisor Bartlett.
“I think we are getting to a point now where we’re running very efficiently at the county level,” she said. “We have the bandwidth to expand dramatically with expanded hours, but it’s all dependent upon the vaccine doses that we receive from the state.
“If we had double or triple the amount of vaccines coming into the county, we have the ability and the resources to expand operations at our current sites, and add additional super pod sites, almost overnight.”
