OC Reports 3,995 New COVID-19 Cases, 110 Deaths; Some Hoping To Get Vaccine Find Site Closed
LAGUNA WOODS (CBSLA) — The Orange County Health Care Agency Tuesday reported 3,995 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and 110 more deaths, bringing countywide totals to 214,808 cases and 2,477 deaths.
The continued rise in cases and deaths comes as the county's largest COVID-19 vaccine super site closed due to a Santa Ana wind event, leaving seniors like Monte Taylor out in the cold.
He said it took three days for him to secure his Tuesday appointment at the Disneyland Resort, but when he pulled into the parking lot for his appointment, a sign said the site was closed.
"We came here thinking that we were going to get our vaccine today at 12:15 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. and come here and we see this sign saying it's closed today and that you'll get an email, but we never received any email, never received any text message," he said.
Taylor, who drove to Anaheim with his wife from Irvine, said he didn't get the promised notification from the county about the closure. And while he considers himself adept at navigating the internet and phone apps, the same could not be said for thousands of other seniors who were confused and frustrated by the online-only registration system.
"They have to reach out to their kids, their grandkids, their neighbor anyone that can help them," Alina Aparicio, the daughter of an OC senior, said. "When the library was open, my mom often went to the library and they always helped her."
But officials Tuesday said help was on the way for the most vulnerable members of the community.
Laguna Woods Mayor Shari Horne said 3,000 of her city's eldest residents would be able to get vaccinated at a local clubhouse beginning Friday.
"They are setting up their own registration system ... they haven't said how they were going to do that yet," Horne said. "So I don't know what their plans are just this minute, but it sounds like it will be on a call-in basis and they will announce it when they have the call-in system ready."
The effort is part of the county's larger push to get vaccines into local communities with large senior populations — by hosting clinics at senior centers as additional doses become available.
