Othena, the mobile application being utilized by the Orange County Health Agency to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments for the public, continues to face technical issues, as many struggle to book vaccination appointments in Orange County.  

On Jan. 8, an error in the Othena app doubled the amount of vaccine appointments available countywide during the first week of OC’s Point of Distribution (POD) rollouts, according to Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan. 

As a part of Operation Independence, Orange County health officials are working to vaccinate all of its residents by July 4, according to HCA Director, Dr. Clayton Chau. Othena, the OC’s new mobile application, will play a significant role, specifically in vaccine appointment scheduling.   

However, the county is trying to resolve technical issues impacting the amount of appointments available at Orange County’s regional points of distribution.  

In a tweet Wednesday, Jan. 13, HCA acknowledged the ongoing issues with the Othena App, and said an increase of visitors may have resulted in some users experiencing technical difficulties. HCA added that more than 10,000 Orange County residents were able to schedule a vaccination appointment, and others signed up for a notification for upcoming appointments.    

“We are working diligently to address any technical issues this large influx of visitors may have caused. We thank the community for their patience as we continue to improve the experience for visitors,” HCA wrote in a tweet. 

On Wednesday, Jan. 13, leaders in Orange County held a press conference at Disneyland Resort, to celebrate the establishment of the county’s first Super POD for the COVID-19 vaccine. Part of Operation Independence, Super PODs will serve as the county’s major point of vaccine distribution. 

As of Jan. 14, HCA had scheduled a total of 3,000 daily appointments through Friday, Jan. 15. The next three-day rolling window for appointment will begin with appointments starting on Saturday, Jan. 16. The Disneyland Super POD is open everyday, from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

While leaders in Orange County are eager to return to normalcy, vaccinating OC’s entire population is the primary task. During Wednesday’s conference, Orange County Fire Authority Commander Mike Petrole continued to reiterate the public should not visit any county POD without an appointment. 

“There is a phased and tiered system, and the vaccine will be delivered on an appointment basis only. Individuals without appointments, even if they are within the eligible group, are directed not to go to a point of dispensing site,” Petrole said during the conference. 

During the press conference, Andrew Do, First District OC Supervisor also acknowledged the ongoing issues with the Othena app, and said it would require the patience of the community as the county works to resolve the issues. 

“I know people may have a hard time getting through [the Othena app], because the volume of people trying to get appointments is so high, that the system can be overloaded – the server can only handle so many calls, then sometimes it crashes,” Do said during Tuesday’s press conference at Disneyland. “Be patient. If it’s not available today, try again in the future. We are working on the technical side to increase the bandwidth, to get people in – to at least let them know that we have them in the system.”

Currently, Orange County has set up three smaller regional PODs in Irvine, Huntington Beach and Fullerton. However, Irvine residents voiced frustration during the first week of Phase 1A vaccinations, as people seeking vaccinations without appointments created traffic around the Irvine POD, which is located at the Orange County Fire Authority Headquarters. 

In terms of demographics, the county is currently vaccinating all tiers of the Phase 1A population, which includes high-risk health care workers, and persons 65 years and older. 

A total of 56,099 people within the Phase 1A population has received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Jan. 8, according to HCA. Orange County has encouraged all residents to visit www.covidvaccinefacts.com for more information on the vaccine.

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