Orange County Medical Director Dr. Raul Pino wants parents to get their kids vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s as the number of hospitalizations rises in the below 18 age group.
Pino says only about 12,000 kids in Orange County between the ages of 12 and 17 have been fully vaccinated. That’s out of a total of some 105,000 children in the area.
He says that’s concerning as COVID-related hospitalizations, and he suspects deaths, are rising in this younger demographic in the county.
“And again, although children and younger people tend to have much better health outcomes. It still does happen. Still, people of young age get hospitalized, people of young age still die from this. We have a few in our county.”
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Pino says unvaccinated children in traditional brick-and-mortar classroom settings can pose a public health threat to the larger community.
“And it is important to understand that soon enough the school year is going to be here, many of them will go back to school into congregated settings. And it’s critically important that they are immunized to protect themselves, and to protect others, and to protect their teachers.”
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Pino says in comparison, some 77 percent of the older population, ages 65 and up, in the county has gotten the COVID-19 shot.
