A Queen Creek firefighter monitors traffic at a drive-through COVID-19 vaccination site in Chandler on Dec. 31, 2020. /Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy /Arizona Mirror
By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror
The lines of traffic filled with front-line health care workers and those most vulnerable who had just received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Chandler was by design at the point of dispensing, or POD.
The POD in Chandler, situated at the Chandler-Gilbert Community College, plans to take about 6,850 appointments per day.
“It’s intended to back up,” said Heather James, Operations Chief for Dignity Health, referring to the several lanes of traffic in the parking-lot-turned-triage-center where members of the Chandler, Mesa and Queen Creek fire departments and the Arizona National Guard monitored those who just recently got the shot. James is overseeing the Chandler vaccination site.The reason for the lines of cars is to monitor those who just received their first dose of the two-step vaccine. After receiving the first dose, patients have to wait between 15 and 30 minutes to ensure there are no adverse reactions.
