Anticipation surrounding the location of Orange County’s second Super POD COVID-19 vaccination site culminated on Wednesday, Jan. 20, as the county announced the selection of Soka University, in Aliso Viejo.

In Irvine, while city leaders recently championed the Orange County Great Park as a potential location for a Super POD (Point of Distribution) site, Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan said she now expects the county’s third Super POD to be established in North County.

More importantly, Khan said, is the equal availability of the COVID-19 vaccine for residents in all regions of Orange County.

Still, Irvine will remain ready, and focused on ways to help the most vulnerable locally. 

“It only makes sense that the third site would cover North County. My only hope, and something I will continue to advocate for, is to have a site in Irvine open up as the fourth site,” Khan sent in a text to Irvine Weekly. “In the meantime, we have been working with the County Health Agency to open up a mobile site in Irvine for our seniors.”

As Orange County works to add seniors 65 and older into the Phase 1 vaccination population, Marianna Marysheva, Irvine’s Interim City Manager, said the city is working to establishing a senior specific POD in Irvine. 

“We’re also working with the county on having a site for Irvine seniors — age 65 and older — we are specifically looking at the Lakeview Senior Center,” she said. “We’ve looked at the site, the county has toured the site — we’re ready as soon as the county is ready.”

Marysheva said on-going dialog with the county regarding the establishment of vaccination sites in Irvine has indicated that an indoor space at the O.C. Great Park also has major potential as a vaccination site. 

Adding that if this indoor space is utilized, it would not interfere with any of the on-going COVID-19 testing currently underway at the O.C. Great Park. 

“Specifically, what we’ve been looking at is Hangar 244. It’s the hanger that is next to the carousel and art studios, near the Palm Court in the Great Park,” Marysheva explained in an interview with Irvine Weekly. “It’s an indoor space that would not impact our outdoor testing site.” 

While no plans are confirmed, in terms of Irvine’s probability of becoming the next city to host a Super POD or general vaccination site, without giving a percentage of odds, Marysheva said her discussions at the county level have indicated that there is good potential.

“From the very beginning, the county has told us we were ‘weeks out.’ At this point, we estimate that sometime potentially in the middle of February, the site could be activated,” Marysheva said, emphasizing there is no formal agreement at this time. “In the meantime, we have everything in place as far as logistics on our end.”

The topic of Irvine vaccination sites will also will be addressed during the Irvine City Council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 26. 

The county is encouraging residents to sign up for the Othena App, the mobile application being utilized by the Orange County Health Agency to schedule vaccine appointments. 

However, technical issues surrounding the Othena App have caused delays and confusion for some residents.  

As part of Operation Independence, Orange County is working to establish four Super PODs, which includes the Super POD at Disneyland Resort, along with the second Super POD location at Soka University. The county has also established three smaller PODs in Irvine, Huntington Beach and Fullerton. 

The county is working to vaccinate all residents by July 4.

As of Jan. 17, Orange County had distributed 108,812 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This week, the county is expected to receive 57,875 doses of vaccine from the state of California.

Orange County’s second Super POD at Soka University is scheduled to open Saturday, Jan. 23, at 8:00 a.m., according to Lisa Bartlett, Fifth District Supervisor.

“Orange County is moving quickly to make the COVID-19 vaccination available; however, the county faces ongoing supply limitations. The Orange County Health Care Agency is continuously requesting more doses from the State every day,” Bartlett said in a statement.

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