Disneyland will become a ‘super site’ for COVID-19 vaccinations

Disneyland Resort will become the first mass vaccination site for COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Orange County, California. By late this week, thousands of people will be able to get vaccinated at the so-called “happiest place on Earth” each day. Disneyland will be the first of five similar sites in the region.

“Coronavirus has brought both a public health crisis and economic devastation. With this super site, we will begin to overcome both,” Harry Sidhu, the mayor of Anaheim, where Disneyland is located, said in a statement. “Every vaccination done in Anaheim will help to save lives and speed the reopening and recovery of our city.”

Southern California is reeling from a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths over the past month as it’s become the epicenter of the pandemic. Roughly one in six residents tested in Orange County has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the past seven days. In neighboring Los Angeles County, it’s one in five.

Each person vaccinated is one fewer resident at risk of becoming sick, bringing us one step closer to achieving herd immunity. So officials across the world have turned to stadiums and fairgrounds as part of their plans to ramp up vaccinations. LA’s Dodger Stadium will stop providing COVID-19 tests and switch to administering vaccinations by Friday. Seven mass vaccination sites have already opened up this week in the UK, where the first authorized vaccine was administered, CBS reported.

Correction 5:33PM ET: An earlier version of this story said vaccinated people have a lower risk of spreading COVID-19. While vaccinations bring the world closer to achieving herd immunity, there is not enough data yet to prove that these vaccines can lower transmission.