Mass COVID-19 vaccination site opens at Anaheim Convention Center
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orange County opened its second mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the Anaheim Convention Center on Tuesday. The distribution point is set to dole out booster shots for those inoculated with the Moderna vaccine.
After Feb. 24, only the Pfizer vaccine will be administered at Disneyland for the first and booster shots and the convention center will be where Moderna shots, including boosters, will be administered, officials clarified last week.
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The county has been receiving 35,000 to 40,000 vaccines a week, but if it received more it could open new sites for inoculations, Orange County CEO Frank Kim said.
There were concerns that the weather-caused supply shortage would delay Tuesday’s opening.
On Friday, county officials used what little vaccines they had left to provide booster shots for seniors through mobile clinics that were set up to reach seniors who had to get help enrolling in the county's Othena app and website, Kim said. It would be easier to reschedule shots for residents who were able to navigate the technology to make their own appointments, Kim explained.
Anyone due for a booster shot should not worry about being a little late, he said. The manufacturers say a booster shot can be dispensed up to six weeks late and still be effective, according to Dr. Clayton Chau, the county's chief health officer and director of the Orange County Health Care Agency.
Starting this week, the county will allocate 70% of its vaccines for residents 65 and older and the rest for new categories of workers now made eligible for shots by the state. They include teachers, child care providers and food industry workers.
"This change to eligibility guidelines will mean a slower vaccine rollout for individuals who are currently eligible under Phase 1a and people age 65 and older,'' Chau said in a memo to county officials on Friday.
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