ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The most recent data shows that only 39% of seniors eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine have been vaccinated so far.
By current estimates, that means the next eligible vaccination group may not be able to start receiving the vaccine until late March.
Orange County, which has roughly 250,000 senior residents, said the reason more seniors haven’t received the vaccine is because of a lack of supply.
Orange County public health researcher Alvina Chu said we need to speed up the vaccination process as more cases of the U.K. variant move in.
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She said it’s possible the community may need more than 79% of the population vaccinated to reach herd immunity, because the U.K. variant is more contagious.
“In general, we need more vaccinations of more percentage or greater proportion of the population to be able to control or contain the virus,” she said.
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As of Wednesday, about 8% of Orange County’s total population has been vaccinated so far.
The White House says it should have enough doses for all Americans by the end of the summer, so it comes down to how fast they can get those doses into arms.
