Chapman may join other vaccination sites across Orange County

Orange County officials have begun the process of constructing five major vaccination sites in addition to several smaller, mobilized distribution centers — which potentially includes Chapman University. SAM ANDRUS, Photo Editor

Newly-elected President Joe Biden’s ambitious goal of 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office remains the subject of validity as a national shortage of medical supplies takes its toll on vaccination points-of-dispensing (POD) across the country. Orange County is no exception, yet county officials have their sights set on vaccinating all residents by July 4 and ensuring it happens through the construction of five “super” PODs, which are large scale vaccination sites capable of dispersing thousands of doses each day.

Disneyland Park was the first Orange County vaccination site to emerge Jan. 13, operating primarily through Othena, a platform that allows vaccine recipients to schedule an appointment ahead of time. On the first night alone, the application was deluged by over 10,000 people. While seemingly large in number, this quantity is a mere fraction of the 600,000 Orange County residents currently eligible for the vaccine when taking into consideration people older than 65 years of age, those with critical underlying health conditions and emergency health workers.

Soka University of America, a liberal arts institution in Aliso Viejo, became the county’s second super POD Jan. 23, also making use of the Othena interface. However, Archibald Asawa, vice president for Finance and Administration at Soka University, reported a much smoother experience ushering people in and out of their appointments. Initially providing 1,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, Asawa told The Panther that the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) now aims to increase Soka’s vaccination distribution rate to between 5,000 and 6,000 doses a day. 

“We’re going to try to operate as long as we can and for as long as the county needs it, just because we really want to provide this service and support for our community,” Asawa said.

Soka University’s unique responsibility to the community is by virtue of a long-standing agreement with the OCHCA to serve as a site for mass vaccination that Asawa said was established in 2007. He attributes the efficiency of the current vaccination site to previous influenza vaccine distributions and revealed that the OCHCA had approached the university around December 2019 to enlist assistance in distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Chapman University, too, has functioned as a POD in prior years, said Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communications Jamie Ceman. According to a Jan. 22 CU Safely Back update, the university may take on a similar role within the Chapman community again.

President Daniele Struppa announced that the administration feels Chapman University is in a “good position to also begin receiving one of the vaccines in the near future.” However, Struppa cautioned the distribution will involve a “very strict process” that abides by the state-mandated guidelines for eligibility. Ceman told The Panther the supply may be limited in quantity and further restricted to Chapman students, faculty and staff.

“We could get as few as 100 (vaccines) but possibly more, and then what we would have to do with that 100 is then prioritize again based on what the state recommendations are,” Ceman said.

Because of the limited supply and students’ continued exposure to campus, Chapman viral infection specialist Jerika Lam stressed that the likelihood of Chapman University transitioning into a super POD of Soka University’s caliber is next to zero. Nonetheless, the smaller scale project gives way to opportunities for students on Chapman’s Rinker Health Science campus to obtain real-world experience vaccinating the fellow members of their community — a daunting task many medical students are already performing off-campus.

“Chapman faculty who are licensed to vaccinate and Chapman students who are all licensed as interns to vaccinate … will all be in the frontlines helping to vaccinate the Chapman community,” Lam said.

As COVID-19 vaccination efforts continue to push forward and the current 12.9% positivity rate as of Jan. 31 begins to dwindle, Orange County hospital intensive care units have remained stagnant at 0% capacity while the county is still categorized in the most restrictive  “widespread” tier of the COVID-19 watchlist. In spite of the pandemic’s continuation, California Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the regional stay-at-home order Jan. 25 as Los Angeles County also began to relax its restrictions with outdoor dining reopening.

Lam fears this decision may have been made prematurely and urges Orange residents to continue following proper social distancing protocol in spite of reduced enforcement.