Full vaccinations in Orange County up to 69.9%, county asks residents to stay vigilant

Visitors stand on a bench for an elevated picture at Huntington Beach Pier.

By Lilly NguyenStaff Writer

Sept. 17, 2021 4:53 PM PT

Nearly 70% of all eligible residents in Orange County are vaccinated now, but county health officials are asking residents to be conscious of their health ahead of the upcoming flu season and as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to decline.

Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, deputy county health officer, said in a media briefing Friday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that 69.8% of all eligible Orange County residents, or a little more than 2 million people, are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. That further breaks down to 79.3% having received at least one dose of a vaccine as of Thursday.

“We’re encouraged to see more people getting vaccinated,” Chinsio-Kwong said. “But, there is still more work to be done, especially in the hard to reach communities ... the [Orange County Health Care Agency] remains committed to reach out to these vulnerable areas with high positivity rates, but low vaccination rates.”

Chinsio-Kwong said the county is seeing a drop across the board for hospitalizations and cases, but that officials are still strongly encouraging residents to get vaccinated.

“While our cases continue to decline, now is not the time to relax,” Chinsio-Kwong said, adding that residents should continue to follow federal, state and county health guidance in addition to getting their flu vaccines if they have not already.

“Our flu season [last year] was unprecedented,” Chinsio-Kwong said. “We had a very low rate ... but now with everybody back in school and in close contact with each other, there is a risk of higher cases of flu as well as an early flu season.”

As of Friday, the Orange County Health Care Agency reported 394 new cases of the coronavirus and seven new deaths of residents not currently living in a facility.

About 367 cases are currently hospitalized and 108 of those cases are in intensive care units.

That is down from Tuesday’s reported 372 hospitalizations, but a slight uptick from the 105 hospitalized cases of COVID-19.

Cases have likewise declined or plateaued in the Newport-Mesa and Laguna Beach unified school districts.

In the Newport-Mesa district, cases fell from the 30 reported last week to 24 on Friday.

The same is true in Laguna Beach Unified, where the total number of active coronavirus cases in isolation fell to seven and only four are in quarantine due to close contact to the virus.

However, in the Ocean View and Fountain Valley school districts, there have been seven confirmed cases since the districts began classes on Sept. 8.

The Huntington Beach Union High School District also appears to have ticked up from the 22 cases reported last week to 29.

The Huntington Beach City School District does not currently have an online dashboard tracking the number of cases, because the district recently transferred websites, according to officials. Inquiries about the number of cases were not immediately responded to Friday afternoon.

Data reported by the healthcare agency currently indicate that children account for 81 of the 394 cases reported Friday.

Of the total cases in Orange County recorded, 490 were in Newport Beach; 1,481 were in Huntington Beach; 1,313 were in Costa Mesa; 462 were in Fountain Valley; and 137 were in Laguna Beach.

Here are the latest cumulative coronavirus case counts and COVID-19 deaths for select cities in Orange County: