Since the approval of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, vaccination sites have been popping up all over the country, in order to vaccinate as many people as possible. This vaccination effort has been felt locally in Orange County, with 178,016 vaccine doses that have been administered within the county, as of January 25th. Of the vaccines distributed, 29,642 people have received two doses, while 118,732 people have received one dose.

Currently, the vaccination program is in Phase 1A. This beginning phase prioritizes vaccines for healthcare workers and people aged 65 years or older. People who are eligible for the vaccine can contact their employer or long-term care facility for information, or register online through the county’s vaccination and testing management software, Othena.com. The next tier, expected to start vaccination around February, includes workers in the food, agriculture, education, and childcare sectors, as part of Phase 1B Tier 1. Other priority vaccination groups in Phase 1B include jail and prison inmates, homeless people, transportation and logistics sector workers, industrial, residential, and commercial sector workers, and critical manufacturing sector workers. Phase 1C vaccination eligibility includes people ages 50-64, people ages 16-49 with underlying health problems or disabilities that increase their risk of a severe case of COVID-19. People in Phase 1C are expected to become eligible for vaccination in February as well.

One of the most notable vaccination centers in Orange County is, of course, Disneyland. After closing down due to the pandemic, the parking lot of the so-called “Happiest Place on Earth” has become the first vaccination super-site in the county. People are urged to register on Othena in order to receive a vaccine at the Disneyland vaccination site.

While the vaccination effort continues both locally and on the national level, coronavirus still continues to ravage the nation. The end is in sight, but there is still a long way to go. This large-scale effort to vaccinate the country, however, is key to stopping the spread of the coronavirus and bringing the pandemic to an end. The vaccine will only be effective if enough people put their trust in science and take the vaccines. So, the question remains: “Will people take the vaccine?” More importantly, “Will Orange County step up and take the vaccines to reach herd immunity?”

Well, for the nation as a whole, the answer is unclear. In December, 60% of people said that they would take the vaccine, and confidence in the vaccine has been rising. However, taking a step back to look at the bigger picture shows that vaccine confidence has been constantly fluctuating during the pandemic. In Orange County, the number sits a little lower, at 58%, as of December 2020. However, this number may fluctuate as well. It seems as if only time will tell how many people will get the vaccine, and it may remain unclear whether the county or the nation will be able to reach herd immunity.

To learn more about registering for the vaccine in Orange County, visit Othena.com.

To learn more about the vaccination effort in Orange County, visit the Orange County COVID-19 Information Website’s Vaccine Distribution Page or Vaccine Resources Page. Or, for information on how many people have been vaccinated in Orange County, visit the OC COVID-19 Website’s Vaccination Population Page.

Sources:

https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/covid-19-vaccination-distribution

https://www.othena.com/

https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/covid-19-vaccine-resources

https://abc7.com/disneyland-covid-19-vaccination-site-orange-county/9634698/

https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/vaccines-administered-oc

https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/12/03/intent-to-get-a-covid-19-vaccine-rises-to-60-as-confidence-in-research-and-development-process-increases/

https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/covid-19-vaccine-survey