Orange County United Way has tapped Providence Health and Edwards Lifesciences Corp. to bring free COVID-19 vaccines to vulnerable communities in the region.
Edwards Lifesciences Foundation is providing Orange County United Way funding to connect the community to vaccination opportunities. Providence is providing the healthcare staffing and is administering the vaccines at each event.
United Way, a nonprofit focused on education, health, housing and financial stability, has already hosted 12 neighborhood-based pop-up events and vaccinated more than 1,106 individuals since June 8.
It’s planned an additional 50 vaccination mobile clinics at schools, businesses, faith based organizations and apartment communities over the next few months.
“Our goal in holding these pop-ups is to ensure that the vaccine is conveniently accessible to people across our community, but especially to those in high-need areas,” Chief Executive Sue Parks said.
“For many, we know that the priority remains on work and family life demands, but we want to see all people, especially multigenerational households, protected against this illness so that they can thrive for years to come.”
Incentive
To encourage vaccinations, each participant is given a $25 grocery cash card.
No health insurance or identification is required and walk-ins are welcome. A full list of upcoming events is available at: www.unitedwayoc.org/events/covid-vaccine-locations-orange-county.
1.8M Doses
The county indicates about 1.78 million OC residents were fully vaccinated as of June 23, having received both doses of Pfizer, Moderna, or the single Johnson & Johnson dose.
That represents about 55% of the total population, though the total vaccination figure is higher when excluding ineligible residents including those under the age of 12.
The Orange County Health Care Agency aimed to reach herd immunity, or see 70% of the population get vaccinated, by July 4. It launched an on-site vaccination offering in mid-June to bring mobile clinics to businesses’ front doors.
However, vaccine distribution has largely plateaued in recent weeks, and data shows underserved populations continue to have a lower vaccination rate compared to more affluent communities.
