TimesOC: As winter approaches, O.C. parents get kids vaccinated
Good morning and welcome to the TimesOC newsletter.
It’s Friday, Nov. 12. I’m Ben Brazil, bringing you the latest roundup of Orange County news and events.
Since children became eligible for vaccinations last week, thousands of Orange County parents have been rushing to inoculate their kids against the deadly coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, a deputy health officer for Orange County, said this week that more than 7,700 doses have been administered so far, with 3,000 of those being given out just on Tuesday.
Reporters Luke Money and Rong-Gong Lin II wrote that health officials are expecting the demand to increase going into the weekend. As of Wednesday, more than 110,000 of the 3.5 million children aged 5 to 11 in the state had received their first vaccine dose.
The wave of vaccinations comes as we enter into an uncertain winter.
“Vaccines are our way through this pandemic,” Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary said during a briefing. “We are concerned about the winter. We’re concerned about rising case numbers, pressure on our hospitals from a number of other issues on top of COVID, so do what you can today to get your vaccine. Protect yourself into the winter.”
Chinsio-Kwong is urging parents to get their children vaccinated. However, some may be hesitant considering that children are less likely to die from the virus than adults. Still, as Money and Lin II mentioned, the virus is still one of the leading causes of death among children aged 5 to 11 nationally.
In Orange County, parents have pushed back against perceived vaccine mandates for schools. “Our kids, our choice!” was a rallying cry for some at a recent protest held by Newport-Mesa school district parents.
“I don’t think that it is acceptable to have COVID as [among the] top 10 reasons for death in the pediatric population,” Chinsio-Kwong said. “I think we need to do better at protecting them. And now that we have this vaccine, this is a great opportunity for us to provide a more effective measure that can protect them against severe illness and death.”
MORE NEWS
Some in the Anaheim High community contend that the school should no longer be known as the home of the “Colonists” due to the perceived insensitivity with the name and associated mascot. “We cannot keep this mascot as it is a constant reminder of the trauma natives endured at the hands of colonizers,” wrote Laura Luevano. “Our ancestors did not experience cultural genocide, assimilation and exploitation for us to embrace this racist symbol.” However, a majority of the students decided this week that they want to keep the nickname and the mascot, which supporters say stem from the original Anaheim Colony established by German winegrowers in the mid-1800s.
A federal murder trial involving a midnight boat ride and an alleged execution was playing out this week in an Orange County courtroom. Reporter Meghann Cuniff described the unusual details of the alleged killing of Tri “James” Minh Dao off the Dana Point Harbor in 2019.
The California Department of Justice is investigating local law police in Orange County for two shootings of apparently unarmed civilians. As those investigations continue, the city of Irvine has joined Huntington Beach, Garden Grove and Anaheim in choosing to use teams of medical workers to respond to mental health-related calls for service rather than relying on police. The effort is meant to free up police and decrease violent confrontations between law enforcement and people suffering with homelessness or mental health issues.
The powerful synthetic drug fentanyl is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Orange County residents. The drug can be found in street forms of seemingly innocuous pharmaceutical drugs like Xanax, Oxycontin and other opioids. This week, Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer announced that he will seek murder charges against dealers who sell drugs that end up killing people. “These are not overdoses,” Spitzer said. “These are murders.”
In another sign of the burgeoning drug trade in Orange County, Huntington Beach police this week seized $1 million worth of drugs in a bust targeting a Mexican ring. Reporter Matt Szabo wrote that almost 400 pounds of methamphetamine, 17 kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl and two handguns were recovered.
LIFE AND LEISURE
Orange County residents looking to score a nice pie for Thanksgiving can head to the Pie Hole at the Anaheim Packing House. My colleague Sarah Mosqueda wrote that the business has expanded to nearly a dozen locations since it opened in 2011 with popular pies like Earl Grey Tea, made with the brewed beverage, and Cereal Killer Cheesecake, made with fruity breakfast cereal.
A veteran who painted scenes of the Vietnam War is having his work displayed at Heroes Hall at the O.C. fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. Ed Bowen was nearly assigned to two of the deadliest occupations in the war before a first sergeant recognized his artistic gifts. Reporter Sara Cardine has the story.
The works of plein air artist Sam Hyde Harris will be exhibited from Nov. 19 to Feb. 27 at the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens in San Clemente. “Sam Hyde Harris is probably one of the only artists whose work has not been fully rediscovered since the California Impressionists gained critical recognition in the early 1980s,” said Casa Romantica Executive Director Amy Behrens. “Winning over 100 awards in his career, this exhibition gives long-deserved attention to Harris.”
SPORTS
The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani is continuing to claim awards for his explosive season, including the Silver Slugger award for the best designated hitter in the American League. Ohtani is only the second Japanese-born recipient of the honor.
Huntington Beach and Newport Harbor boys’ water polo teams made it to the CIF Open Division title match, ensuring that it will be the first time in more than a decade that a public school will win the top division in CIF Southern Section boys’ water polo. The Surf League rivals will face off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Despite a dominant season, the Huntington Beach girls’ tennis team lost to San Marino in the CIF divisional semifinals. Huntington Beach coach Patrick Wright still felt that his team played a great match. “The entire team is a lot deeper and a lot stronger,” he said. “All these matches that we won that were close were a team effort for the most part. Last year we were relying on our singles to get eight or nine wins. I knew this match most likely was going to end up 9-9. I was hoping we would have the edge in games, but we didn’t.”
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