Laguna Beach Vaccine Verification Under Discussion, County Says

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — As the state prepares to open vaccines to everyone aged 16 and up this week, Orange County supervisors are looking to implement a method of residents can show they have been fully vaccinated for coronavirus. c

On Tuesday the Orange County board of supervisors will meet to discuss how that verification will work. The county's chief executive says that they hope to avoid businesses should show a preference for the vaccinated.

Orange County CEO Frank Kim says the board will avoid any position where businesses restrict access only to those who are vaccinated.

County officials want to get away from referring to verification as a "passport," Kim said.

"It's getting confused with we're supporting some kind of restrictive process. We're just trying to figure out a way that if you request verification we'll assist you in doing so in as easy a way possible."

The county on Monday reported 120 new COVID-19 cases but did not log any new deaths. The cumulative case count now stands at 252,436 and the death toll remained at 4,839.

The death toll for March stands at 146 as of Monday. There have been no fatalities reported so far this month, but COVID-19 fatalities are often staggered or delayed in reporting for a variety of reasons.

In February, the death toll stands at 560. Both months stand in contrast to a holiday-fueled rise in cases when 1,493 COVID-19-related fatalities were reported in January, the deadliest month in the pandemic by far, and 927 in December, the second deadliest month.

Hospitalizations declined from 124 on Sunday to 120 on Monday with the number of intensive care unit patients increasing from 25 to 29.

The county has 33.9% of its ICU beds available, and 70% of its ventilators.

The county's statistics have stabilized over the past few weeks despite relaxed restrictions.

"If I look at the actual infection data and test positivity data week over week we're in a steady decline, which is all I care about," Kim said.

The positivity rate on Monday was at 1.6%, and at 1.8% in the "health equity" category for zip codes hardest hit by the pandemic, Kim said.

"I think overall it's more of the same, other than the fact that we've plateaued across the board in terms of our metrics," Kim said. "The only thing that will improve it is the continued vaccinations, and that will be relatively slow."

The county averaged 14,500 inoculations a day over the weekend, Kim said.

"So we're scheduling around 15,000 a day now," Kim said.

County officials are ramping up for a rise in demand on Thursday when anyone 16 and older can be vaccinated, Kim said. Those under 18 must get parental permission, he added.

"We should see a bump in demand," Kim said.

The county's no-show rate at its vaccination sites has ranged from 2% to 6%, which health professionals say is a relatively low rate, Kim said. It's possible by the end of this week that at least half of the state will be at least partially vaccinated, Kim said.

Another 6,288 tests were reported Monday, upping the cumulative total to 3,471,291.

It is an unlikely that Orange County will reach the least restrictive yellow tier of the state's four-tier system for reopening the economy as case rates must get below 2 per 100,000 population, Kim said.

As the state opens up this week to vaccinate everyone 16 and older,County officials are nervous about a decline in vaccine allocations next week. A contamination of Johnson & Johnson vaccines in a Baltimore plant led to the decline in vaccine allocations.

The weekly update from the state, issued on Tuesdays, showed the county's test positivity rate improved from 1.7% to 1.6%, while the adjusted case rate per 100,000 people on a seven-day average with a seven-day lag increased from 2.8 to 3.

The county's Health Equity Quartile rate, which measures positivity in hotspots in disadvantaged communities, improved from 2.6% to 2.1%. The county's positivity rates qualify for the least restrictive yellow tier of the state's four-tier system for reopening the economy, but the case counts are still in the orange tier.

The county has administered 1.8 million COVID vaccine doses to residents, Kim said. It is testing 301.5 per 100,000 residents on a seven-day average with a seven-day lag.

The county's recent move into the orange tier of the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy allowed restrictions to be eased on a variety of business sectors. Retail stores now do not have to limit attendance at all, and churches, movie theaters, museums, zoos and aquariums were allowed to expand from 25% to 50% of capacity.

Restaurants were given permission to expand indoor dining to 50% and wineries to offer indoor service at 25%, while bars that don't serve food got the green light to reopen outdoors. Gyms and fitness centers were cleared to expand to 25% of capacity, and family entertainment centers can offer indoor attractions such as bowling.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashlely Ludwig contributed to this report.