The news this week on the COVID-19 front appears good, potentially offering something for everyone in Orange County: the county got a record number of vaccine doses this week, a new vaccination site will open for those in need of inoculation, and rules for some businesses would relax if OC moves into a less restrictive tier as expected.
An unexpected shipment of 44,000 doses arrived Sunday, bringing the week’s total to 115,000, OC Fifth District Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said Monday, March 29. That’s the most the county has gotten in a single week so far.
“I am hoping it’s definitely a sign of things to come,” Bartlett said. “The dosage that we are receiving this week is almost triple our average weekly dosage allotment, so this represents a significant increase for Orange County.”
Another positive sign is the county’s plan to open a mass vaccination site at the OC Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa on Wednesday. It will be the fourth large-scale, county-run site, along with Soka University in Aliso Viejo, Disneyland (now exclusively a drive-thru site) and the Anaheim Convention Center.
County spokeswoman Molly Nichelson said the fairgrounds site will offer drive-thru and walk-up lines, still by appointment only. Residents can register with the county’s Othena app or website and will be notified when it is their turn to make an appointment.
While the county hasn’t yet announced what hours the site will operate, Nichelson and Bartlett said officials hope to be able to offer early morning and late-night appointments at some sites to serve people who can’t get away from work during typical business hours. It will depend on regularly getting even more vaccines than this week’s bounty.
An increased supply will become even more important over the next two weeks, as the state expands eligibility to everyone 50 and older as of April 1 and then drops the age limit to 16 on April 15.
Dr. Jose Mayorga, who teaches family medicine at UC Irvine, said the Anaheim and Santa Ana clinics where he treats patients just began getting a combined 800 doses a week, which is twice the amount they’d been receiving.
“We’ve heard the president (President Joe Biden) already say he’s shooting for 200 million doses” administered nationwide by May, Mayorga said. “On the ground what we’re seeing, we’re absolutely seeing an increase in vaccine availability.”
While doctors who practice solo may not be set up to handle vaccinating their patients, Mayorga said the expected vaccine supply boost should increase the number of clinics, pharmacies, pop-up sites and other places where people can get their shots.
“People really appreciate options and that’s what I think we’re going to begin to see.”
More options are expected for businesses and customers starting Wednesday, if the county moves into the state’s orange tier of restrictions as predicted. Bartlett said officials should hear from the state by early Tuesday whether OC’s metrics have stayed in the prescribed range long enough to have the rules loosened.
After the daily average number of new COVID-19 cases peaked at more than 3,500 in early January, it had dropped as of last week to just above 100 cases, the lowest it’s been in nearly a year, according to county data. As of Sunday, just 145 people were hospitalized in OC with COVID-19, another low that hasn’t been seen in months.
Once the county enters the orange tier, bars that don’t serve meals can open outdoor spaces; hotels can reopen indoor pools; museums, zoos, movie theaters and religious centers can all bump visitor capacity to 50%; and malls can return to full capacity, although food courts would not be fully opened. Outdoor live events and performances can also increase their attendance levels. All business are still expected to follow guidelines regarding masks, social distancing and sanitation.
Restaurateur and brewer Wil Dee, who’s also president of the Orange County Brewers Guild, said the county’s beer makers are excited about being able to welcome a limited number of patrons back to indoor tasting rooms under orange tier rules.
They’ve been able to serve guests in outdoor spaces, but not everyone has a location suited to that, and a patio isn’t always appealing in cold or rainy weather.
For Dee’s Chapman Crafted brewery in Orange and others, he said, “The main revenue stream is direct to consumer (sales) in tasting rooms.”
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