Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Iconic Disneyland and Dodger Stadium will be used this week as super vaccination sites in the Los Angeles area, which has been hit hard by coronavirus cases, officials announced Monday.
Orange County officials said Monday that Disneyland Resorts in Anaheim will open its doors later this week as what is being called a "Super POD," or point-of-dispensing, and will be capable of vaccinating thousands per day. The vaccination distribution is being managed by the California Department of Public Health.
The facility will be open to Orange County residents who meet the criteria in Phase 1A, which include law enforcement, first responders in high-risk communities, and those 75 and older.
"The Disneyland Resort, the largest employer in the heart of Orange County, has stepped up to host the county's first Super POD site -- undertaking a monumental task in our vaccination distribution process," acting Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Andrew Do, said in a statement.
Orange County said Disneyland will be one of five regional "Super POD" sites that will open up in the coming weeks. The county said it will announce the location of the other sites once agreements have been made.
"After a year in which so many in our community have faced unprecedented hardship and uncertainty, there is now reason for optimism with the administration of a vaccine," Dr. Pamela Hymel, chief medical officer for Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, said.
Los Angeles city officials announced Monday that Dodger Stadium, home of the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, will transition from a large-scale testing site to a mass vaccination center as well.
More than 1 million Los Angeles residents have gone to the ballpark for testing and officials said they have the much of the infrastructure in place to turn the location into a vaccination facility.
"For eight months, Dodger Stadium served as a lifeline for so many Angelenos -- providing free access to testing," Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis said in a statement. "Robust COVID-19 testing is the linchpin to getting out of this current and unprecedented surge and the vaccine is fulcrum to ending the pandemic once and for all."
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that Citi Field, home of the New York Mets in Queens, will also be converted into a "mega" coronavirus vaccination site by the end of the month, which will be open 24 hours a day. New York City Health and Hospitals will operate the site that will vaccinate from 5,000 to 7,000 daily.
"This is going to help so many people to get vaccinated," de Blasio said. "We welcome all New Yorkers. We even welcome Yankees fans; there's no discrimination."
