Santa Ana, Calif. (May 6, 2021) — The demand for first-dose COVID-19 vaccinations through the Othena platform at County Super Point-of-Dispensing (POD) sites have dropped by over 75% since the end of April. This indicates that county residents who want the vaccines and do not face difficulty traveling to the Super PODs have, for the most part, been able to do so.
Further efforts to achieve mass immunity will require that Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA) focus on more community and neighborhood-based vaccination strategies. This will mean working to overcome vaccine resistance and creating more mobile PODs, with greater outreach, to make vaccination more convenient for people to get vaccinated where they live, work and play.
To meet this changing community need, the County of Orange will close its Super POD sites at the Anaheim Convention Center, OC Fair & Event Center, and Soka University, as well as at Santa Ana College, on June 6, 2021, and shift operations to an expanding network of robust mobile PODs.
The County of Orange and its partners at the Orange County Fire Authority launched ‘Operation Independence’ in January of 2021. The HCA organized an Incident Management Team along with community and city partners, as well as representatives from Orange County law enforcement and fire departments, to stand up and staff Super POD sites to administer vaccines to thousands of Orange County (OC) residents and workers each day.
These large, regional Super PODs were intended to administer higher quantities of COVID-19 vaccines quickly and efficiently to help slow the spread of the virus while helping to alleviate the emergent burden placed on OC’s hospital system by a surge in COVID-19-positive patients.
Vaccine supply has become more plentiful and alternative distribution channels, such as local pharmacies, hospitals, health care systems, community clinics, and providers, are more actively administering doses throughout OC.
Consequently, the County has seen a decrease in demand, as also experienced in many regions nationwide.
The last Moderna, first-dose appointments will be offered at County Super PODs on May 8, 2021. The last Pfizer, first-dose appointments will be offered at County Super PODs on May 15, 2021. The HCA will continue to meet all second-dose obligations.
