Orange County Urged to Remain Vigilant Against COVID Despite Vaccine Progress

Emergency tents are set up outside the University of California–Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

News of the first COVID-19 vaccinations in Orange County, California, was offset by a record number of hospitalizations in the region and a call by officials for residents to keep their guards up.

The Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) reported Dec. 17 that there were 1,519 people hospitalized in the county—including 343 in intensive care units (ICU)—marking the highest level of COVID-19 related hospitalizations yet.