Orange County launches 'Operation Independence' to distribute COVID-19 vaccines countywide

Clinical pharmacist Stephanie Chao fills a syringe.

By Lilly NguyenStaff Writer

Jan. 8, 2021 6:12 PM PT

Orange County announced Thursday that it would be launching “Operation Independence,” in which county officials collaborate with the Orange County Fire Authority to help administer COVID-19 vaccinations to residents countywide.

County officials said the goal of Operation Independence is to set up regional vaccine points of dispensing. Officials said the county expects the need for at least five such sites. They will be brought online as they are approved, staffed and vaccines are made available. The sites are not yet determined, but are expected to dispense thousands of vaccinations daily once they are operational.

To do so, interim chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors Andrew Do said the county established an incident management team at the end of last year to secure locations and set up large, regional supersites that the county calls “super PODs.”

Once locations are finalized, officials said Thursday that the sites will be opened in phases and be located countywide.

The announcement comes as the Orange County Health Care Agency reports 3,544 cases and 26 new deaths on Friday. This brings the total number of cases since March last year to 181,277 regionwide. Additionally, Orange County is now only two deaths away from reaching 2,000 cumulative deaths since data collection began.

That total is currently 1,998.

Empty vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

The first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in Orange County in December, initially allocated to frontline healthcare workers. Vaccines have also been dispensed to residents of skilled or assisted nursing facilities and other healthcare workers. This phase also includes first responders, who began to receive the Moderna vaccine in late December, and law enforcement in virus hotspots.

That has been expanded to include home health care and in-home supportive services, community health workers, public health field staff, primary care clinics, specialty clinics, laboratory workers, dental and other oral health clinics and pharmacy staff.

The next phase is expected to begin in February. It is expected to include members of the public of ages 75 or older, ages 65 to 74 with underlying health conditions and those working in the food and agriculture and education and childcare sectors.

It also includes those working in emergency services; transportation and logistics; industrial, residential and commercial sectors; and critical manufacturing. Those currently incarcerated and homeless will be included. For details on who qualifies for a vaccination in the current and coming phases, visit coronavirus.egovoc.com/covid-19-vaccination-distribution.

Vaccines will only be distributed to Orange County residents and those who work in the county that qualify at the supersites. Individuals will be asked to provide identification and documentation of their vaccine eligibility at the site.

Hospitalizations in the county are now at 2,259. Of those cases, 514 are currently in intensive care units in area hospitals.