Some 40,000 people in Orange County have not gotten the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
County Medical Director Dr. Raul Pino says this is concerning as that means they’re not fully vaccinated and could be contracting or spreading the virus unknowingly.
Pino says the two-dose vaccines are only about 60 percent effective after one of the doses. He says it’s only after the second dose that they are about 90 percent effective.
“It could have an impact on the level of protection as those thousands of people have not acquired full immunity. So they are not fully protected. Depending on the vaccines.”
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Pino says people don’t have to worry about restarting the vaccine series if it’s been more than three weeks since their first vaccine.
He says the important thing is that they come to a mobile vaccine site or to the Convention Center to get their second shot as soon as possible.
“It doesn’t matter how long ago your first dose was. We will give you your second dose. You don’t have to restart the series. Let me say that again. If you have missed your second dose and it was three months ago, we will be giving you your second dose without requiring you to restart the series again.”
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Pino says the Orange County Convention Center vaccination site will close permanently at the end of May.
