By Terry Miller
With the increasing numbers of COVID-19 rapidly rising in Los Angeles County, Pasadena is vaccinating health care workers as fast as possible so they may continue providing greatly needed services during this pandemic.
Tuesday morning, the Pasadena Public Health Department (PPHD) vaccinated some in the community medical field through the closed Medical Point of Dispensing (MPOD) model at Victory Park. This was the inaugural event and officials hope to have more like this soon.
At this closed MPOD, the health dept. administered COVID-19 vaccines to critical health care workers, including Skilled Nursing Facility and Dialysis Center staff. This opportunity to receive vaccines is not available to the public, as PPHD is working through the tiers and phases set by the California Department of Public Health. This MPOD can accommodate up to 550 people.
“In the next two days we hope to vaccinate over 1,000 essential workers,” Lisa Derderian, Pasadena public information officer, said.
In this MPOD, staff set up tents, tables and chairs, participated in briefings, and operations —either by screening forms, answering questions, observing vaccine recipients, or administering vaccines. The lines were short, and vaccinations took a mere minute or two.
