Disruptions in shipments caused by the severe cold that strikes much of the country are causing the closure of mass vaccination sites in Orange County, officials announced on Thursday, February 18.
The Disneyland Super POD (distribution point) in Anaheim, installed in one of the theme park’s parking lots, closed Thursday and will remain closed until Monday, pending the delivery of more COVID-19 vaccines, county officials announced in an announcement.
Patients scheduled for vaccinations from 8 am to 10 am on Thursday were refused for the first time due to the wind on the Disneyland website, according to a tweet from the Health Agency. Later, the announcement of the prolonged closure was made.
Another large-scale site at Soka University 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, said Orange County CEO Frank Kim.
A smaller location at Santa Ana College, which opened on Wednesday, will hold appointments on Thursday and Friday before a temporary closure that begins on Saturday; a reopening date has not been set, pending receipt of more vaccines from Pfizer.
To reassure people whose appointment for the second dose may be delayed, Kim said that guidance from the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that a second injection can be safely and effectively administered up to six weeks after the first. (The second dose of Pfizer is recommended three weeks after the first, and the recommended interval between injections of Moderna is four weeks.)
“Obviously, we are not planning to extend these deadlines that far,” said Kim, but for anyone whose second dose appointment is canceled or delayed, “you will be on the top of our list and we will get you as soon as we can. “
The launch of an Anaheim Convention Center site, scheduled for Wednesday, February 24, could also be delayed because the opening “depends on the delivery of the Modern vaccine,” officials said.
“The forecast for the delivery of the Moderna vaccine on Tuesday, February 16, has not arrived. As a result, the stock of modern vaccines is very low. The state guidance encourages the distribution of all vaccine supplies as quickly as possible and does not allow the maintenance of a large stock in the reserve, ”said the county statement.
“Anyone who has an appointment at the affected locations will receive a notification through Othena (the county’s marking system) with information about the rescheduled appointments,” the statement said.
Anyone with doubts about whether their appointment was affected can check the Othena website, Othena.com or the mobile app, or call the county vaccines hotline at 714-834-2000.
Kim said he expects more doses to arrive this weekend, and state officials told counties on Thursday afternoon that they expect a vaccine shipment next week, but if nothing arrives, Orange County will have to keep its PODs. closed after Monday.
State Department of Public Health officials confirmed to a reporter on Thursday that California is among the states affected by the vaccine shortage, but did not elaborate on how the distributions to counties and health networks operating in several counties would change. in the short term.
Kaiser Permanente – one of the largest providers in Southern California – has so far administered approximately 339,000 of the 400,000 doses it has received for the region, said Dr. Michael Morris, chief physician of the KVIDER Permanente Southern California COVID-19 Vaccination Program in an e-mail response through a spokesperson.
The remaining 15% of doses will “guarantee” the second doses, he said. “To vaccinate as many people as possible, we are not strictly retaining half of our guaranteed vaccines for second doses and we are basically borrowing from future state vaccine distributions.”
Weekly allocations were being made reliably, as vaccination efforts increased across the state, he said. “This week, however, we had delays in delivering the vaccine due to bad weather conditions at the UPS and FedEx hubs in the east, and we may have to reschedule some appointments.”
UCI Health’s vaccination campaign was also affected by logistical delays, said spokesman Tom Vasich. State health officials have informed the University of California health arm that some vaccines are expected to arrive on Friday, while others will arrive next week.
“Thus, the distribution of the Modern vaccine by UCI Health will arrive tomorrow or early next week,” said Vasich on Thursday. “We will monitor closely whether this delay will affect UCI Health’s future vaccine clinics and we will have a better idea of the impact on Monday morning.”
Snowy and icy weather that paralyzed much of the United States, delayed vaccine shipments and slowed or stopped distribution in parts of Southern California and across the country.
The Pasadena Department of Public Health had enough on hand this week to give people their second doses, but officials said the first doses would be very limited. The department’s director, Dr. Ying-Ying Goh, said on Wednesday that officials expected to have enough vaccines to start giving the first doses again in the first week of March. In Los Angeles, delays affected five of the city’s mass vaccination sites, including the largest at Dodger Stadium, although others in the county’s metropolitan area are unlikely to be affected.
In New York, the city had to postpone the appointment of 30,000 to 35,000 vaccination appointments. In parts of the south, the weather has forced some places to close.
“People are working as hard as they can,” said COVID-19 White House coordinator Jeff Zients, “given the importance of bringing vaccines to states and suppliers, but there is an impact on deliveries.”
The team’s editor, Bradley Bermont, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.