During the past pandemic year, large numbers mostly meant bad news. But as far as COVID-19 vaccines are concerned, the higher the number, the better.
About 533,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, both of which require a second dose a few weeks after the first dose, were administered in Orange County on Sunday, February 14th.
At least 306,000 people living or working in Orange County received at least one dose by Monday, February 8, according to the latest available data from the OC Health Care Agency.
Vaccinations have gradually accelerated during the two months since they began in Orange County. As of last week, about 15,000 are applied per day. A month ago, the eligibility in the province was expanded from workers in leading health care and those in long-term care facilities, also to the elderly 65 and older.
With the super-vaccination centers in Anaheim and Aliso Viejo and mobile pop-up clinics, the province’s healthcare agency has borne the brunt of the COVID-19 vaccination demand, as traditional healthcare providers are improving their own momentum.
According to the agency’s data, by February 8, the Health Care Agency had a wide margin in other vaccinations. The campaign administered approximately 109,000 doses in Orange County.
In second place was the pharmacy giant CVS, which gave about 33,000 doses (the federal government started pharmacies early on to vaccinate residents of long-term care facilities, they only switched to the elderly in general); in third place was Kaiser Permanente with 30,000 doses.
Despite some growth pains, about a third of the 649,000 people now vaccinated on Othena, the province’s vaccination system, according to the website’s data.
Last week, officials added a now-serving tracker to the Othena website. On Monday 15 February, appointments are scheduled for people who signed up before 23 January.
Now the largest health networks in Orange County are taking up steam in vaccinating the elderly.
In an email to members across Southern California on Friday, Kaiser Permanente said he would soon begin inviting his 65- to 74-year-old patients to receive the shots, “starting with people at greatest risk for exposure or complications if due to COVID-19. “
The health network fired shots at members aged 75 and older in mid-January.
“As supply increases, we will continue to expand priority groups to more age groups, risk factors and occupations as prescribed by the state,” the email reads.
On Friday, state health officials announced that vaccine administrators could start vaccinating people aged 16 to 64 from March 15 with medical conditions that put them at increased risk of having a fatal case of COVID-19.