OC Residents Receive COVID-19 Vaccine At Joint Vaccination Clinic

ANAHEIM, CA — Nearly 100 Orange County residents received their first or second COVID-19 vaccine dose at a free clinic last Thursday organized by elected officials and community stakeholders across Orange County.

The clinic, held at Ponderosa Park in Anaheim, was held amid a growing number of COVID-19 cases across the county, with 4,000 new positive cases being seen in the past two weeks and a cumulative positive rate of 267,908 cases total.

"With COVID-19 cases back on the rise, it is imperative that we all continue doing our part to protect ourselves and others from the virus," said Anaheim Councilmember Avelino Valencia. "Getting vaccinated is the best thing we can do to achieve this. I am proud of the collaborative effort put forth in order to provide this service to our community."

The clinic was co-sponsored by State Senators Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and Josh Newman, Congressmember Lou Correa, State Assemblymembers Tom Daly and Sharon Quirk Silva, Councilmember Valencia, the Orange County Employees Association and Albertson's.

Prior to Thursday, elected officials, staff members and volunteers hit the streets in Anaheim to raise awareness about the community clinic. Canvassers focused primarily on neighborhoods with low vaccination rates, and while raising awareness of the upcoming clinic, they reassured community members of the vaccine's safety and efficacy. The canvassers knocked on approximately 1,200 doors.

Officials say that increasing the county's vaccination rate is the best defense against the surge in COVID-19 cases, especially in light of the Delta variant, which is believed to be considerably more contagious than other strains of COVID-19.

"The only way to win this battle against COVID is one vaccination at a time," said Congressmember Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana). "We walk our neighborhoods and knock on doors. We are good neighbors. We care about each other. We will win."