Back for seconds? SoCal residents overdue for second COVID-19 shot
Enthusiastic people lined up at the Orange County Great Park new mass vaccination site for their first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, most saying they’d be back for their second shot in four to six weeks.
However, not everyone is living to their promise to come back. According to a CDC report, up to five million people nationwide have skipped their second dose.
Health officials have their theories as to why this may be happening. Forgetting is one but more likely, they say, is that people are getting scared when hearing reports that the side effects can be more serious, even debilitating, after the second shot.
"Not a good idea" expressed Providence Health Care officials, who are working with the city of Irvine at the Great Park site.
Protection goes from 50% to over 85% when you get the second dose, says the CEO of the health giant’s Southern California district. Barbara Ferrer, from LA County Health, echoes the thought and is hoping people will come back and get the second shot.
"It’s important," she explains, to protect as many people as possible.
According to LA County's data, more than 277,000 people were considered overdue for their second dose.
The Irvine site is opening on the same week that Disney’s supersite is closing to accommodate ark visitors (Disney is opening at he end of the week). You can live anywhere in Orange county and get vaccinated in Irvine, which is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., but you must make an appointment on Myturn.ca.gov.
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