Orange County’s second large-scale COVID-19 vaccination site will open at Soka University in Aliso Viejo on Saturday, while authorities continue their efforts to increase vaccines despite supply problems.
The announcement came a week after the county launched its first vaccination center at Disneyland in Anaheim.
In the future, the county plans to operate five centers, which health officials say is the key to its goal of vaccinating all residents by July 4.
For now, only health professionals, residents of long-term care facilities and people aged 65 and over can be vaccinated in the centers.
“Orange County is working 24 hours a day to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to everyone who wants it,” said Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Andrew Do, in a prepared statement. “This second vaccination site at Soka University will allow us to vaccinate thousands of residents each day.”
But the increase in vaccination has been hampered by supply problems. The county depends on the state for its share of vaccine doses and has been ordering more daily, officials said.
The county has distributed 21,782 doses since the opening of the Disneyland website last week. As of Sunday, 108,812 doses have been distributed in general, according to county data.
In the future, authorities hope to vaccinate 7,500 to 8,000 people a day in large-scale centers, said Dr. Clayton Chau, county health officer and director of the Health Agency, last week.
It is unclear how many doses the county has received so far. These numbers were not available on Thursday morning.
Other counties in California are facing the same distressing situation.
In San Francisco, officials warned that vaccines may run out as early as Thursday, because the number of doses the city received dropped significantly from the previous week and the doses that needed to be discarded have not been replaced. However, as the state has already authorized the use of the questionable Moderna lot, the city may use 8,000 doses it was forced to reserve, health officials said.
Los Angeles County received only 853,650 doses, although it needed more than 5 million doses just to inoculate all health professionals and residents aged 65 and over.
In addition to supply issues, vaccination plans hit other hurdles in Orange County this week.
Thousands who were scheduled to receive the first round of the vaccine had their appointments postponed after strong winds forced the Disneyland site to close for two days.
Tuesday’s appointments were rescheduled for Thursday, according to a county representative
County officials also temporarily stopped using a batch of Moderna vaccine that possibly caused allergic reactions. California’s top epidemiologist announced on Wednesday that experts found “no scientific basis” to continue withholding doses.
The county also received complaints from residents who had problems using the Othena website to schedule appointments.
In response, employees of COVID-19 from the OC Health Care Agency and the vaccine helpline at (714) 834-2000 were trained to assist callers with the site.
“We understand that there are many residents eager to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and we encourage people to remain patient while working to dispense our limited vaccine supply to eligible individuals,” said Vice President of the Board of Supervisors Doug Chaffee in a statement.
Basics of vaccines outside Orange County
Los Angeles County residents age 65 and older can apply for a consultation on the county’s public health department website, vaccinatelacounty.com. Residents without access to a computer can call (833) 540-0473 between 8 am and 8:30 pm for help with reservations.
The city of Los Angeles is also offering the vaccine to anyone in Los Angeles County aged 65 or over, through a different online portal. This site connects patients to sites, including Dodger Stadium, San Fernando Recreation Park, Lincoln Park, Hansen Dam and Crenshaw Christian Center.
Ventura County is offering vaccines to residents aged 75 and over who can sign up for online appointments. Information for Riverside County residents can be found at Riverside University Health System, while San Bernardino County residents can find information about vaccines county website.
Times team writers Maura Dolan and Colleen Shalby contributed to this report.