Southern California region opening large-scale COVID-19 vaccination sites at Disneyland and Dodger Stadium

Disneyland set to become a mass vaccination site this week, the first such site in Orange County

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Published Jan. 11, 2021 Updated Jan. 12, 2021 4:37 PM PT

The period leading up to the development and distribution of the coronavirus vaccines was often referred to as the sprint toward the vaccine.

California and public health officials are now racing to make sure that vaccine doses are taken out of the freezer and administered to prioritized populations.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles would be among a short list of mass vaccination centers opening this week. The home of the San Diego Padres, Petco Park, is also among the large-scale vaccination sites.

“We want to get out vaccine as quickly as we can in California, starting with those who are going to be in charge of vaccinating the rest of us, making sure that they’re protected and safe on the front lines of the surge, on the front lines of the vaccine sites, on the front lines of the testing centers, but then also that key focus on really driven by equity,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said.

Disneyland is also set to become a mass vaccination site this week, the first such location in Orange County. The Orange County Board of Supervisors made the announcement on Monday.

The county also expanded the group of people eligible to be vaccinated against the virus to include residents of at least 65 years of age on Tuesday.

The list of those approved to administer the vaccine now includes dentists and pharmacy technicians.

Newsom added that the focus is on vaccinating the vaccinators and “making sure we’re taking care of our most vulnerable and congregate facilities remains our top priority. We’re not abandoning equity. We’re not abandoning exposure. We’re not abandoning the issue of risk. We’re not abandoning the issue of age.”

The arrival of the vaccine has offered renewed hope, including for the University of California system, which announced on Monday that it plans to have students back on its 10 campuses, including UC Irvine, for mostly in-person classes for the fall 2021 term.

“As the University continues to monitor the evolution of the pandemic, we are also carefully planning a safe return to in-person classes,” UC President Michael V. Drake said in a statement. “Current forecasts give us hope that in the fall our students can enjoy a more normal on-campus experience.”

Orange County reported 28 deaths due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, in data provided Tuesday by the Orange County Health Care Agency.

The healthcare agency also reported 3,824 additional infections, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases countywide to 195,685. The county has also experienced a death toll of 2,148 during the pandemic.

Area hospitals are currently treating 2,200 cases of the virus, with 535 of those patients being cared for in intensive care units.

The county reported 16,401 tests for the virus within the last day, which takes the total number of tests administered to 2,300,064. The healthcare agency estimates that 121,434 people in the county have made a recovery after contracting the virus.

Concerning the county’s virus transmission rates, Orange County has seven-day averages of 78.8 daily new cases per 100,000 residents and a testing positivity rate of 19.5%. Those statistics are being kept with a seven-day lag.