In the last year of the pandemic, large numbers have mostly meant bad news. But when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, the higher the number, the better.
About 533,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, which require a second dose a few weeks after the first, were administered in Orange County on Sunday, February 14, according to the state Department of Public Health.
At least 306,000 people who live or work 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 been accelerating steadily in the two months since they started in Orange County. Last week, about 15,000 were being administered each day. A month ago, eligibility in the county was expanded from first-rate health professionals and long-term care facilities to seniors 65 and older.
With super vaccination sites in Anaheim and Aliso Viejo and mobile mobile clinics, the county Health Agency has borne the brunt of the growing demand for COVID-19 immunization while traditional healthcare providers increase their own units.
On February 8, the Health Care Agency led other entities in vaccination by a wide margin, according to agency data. His campaign was responsible for about 109,000 doses administered in Orange County.
Second was the pharmaceutical giant CVS, which administered around 33,000 doses (the federal government used pharmacies from the beginning to inoculate residents of long-term care facilities, they just transitioned to the elderly in general); third was Kaiser Permanente with 30,000 doses.
Despite some growing pains, about a third of the 649,000 people now registered with Othena, the county’s vaccine naming system, have been vaccinated, the website data shows.
Last week, employees added a tracker now in service to the Othena website. As of Monday, February 15, consultations were being scheduled for people who signed up on January 23 or earlier.
Now, campaigns by Orange County’s largest healthcare chains are gaining momentum in vaccinating the elderly.
In an e-mail on Friday to members across Southern California, Kaiser Permanente said it would soon begin inviting its patients aged 65 to 74 to receive vaccines, “starting with people most at risk of exposure or complications due to COVID-19. “
The health network began administering vaccines to members aged 75 and over in mid-January.
“As the supply increases, we will continue to expand priority groups to include more age groups, risk factors and occupations as determined by the state,” said the email.
On Friday, state health officials announced that as of March 15, vaccine administrators can begin to inoculate people aged 16 to 64 with medical conditions that put them at greater risk of having a fatal case of COVID-19.