In The News
More Vaccines on the Way, in Meantime Orange County Likely Under Stay-Home Orders for Another Month
One vaccine against COVID-19 has already been rolled out and others are on the way in the coming weeks and months, but the virus’s unchecked spread and nearly full hospitals mean restrictions and closures aren’t likely to go away soon. Southern California is under a three-week stay home order, and “we’re in week two, but … Read More
'We Can Finally See an End to the Storm': O.C. Healthcare Workers Receive COVID-19 Vaccine
For Dr. Robert Goldberg, the arrival of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is the ray of sunshine in a dark storm. Goldberg, a pulmonologist and critical care physician at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, said that he and other healthcare workers have been waiting for so long. There’d been highs and lows during the course of … Read More
Doctor Receives the First COVID-19 Vaccine Shot at Hoag Hospital
Frontline medical workers get the first vaccinations at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. To view the video clip, please click here.
First COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Given in Orange County
With the sleeves of their hospital scrubs rolled up, more than a dozen medical workers helped usher in what Orange County Health Officer Dr. Clayton Chau called “the beginning of the end of COVID-19” by volunteering to be vaccinated on Wednesday, Dec. 16. Several area hospitals received the county’s first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 … Read More
Orange County Hits Another COVID-19 Hospitalization Record With First Doses Of Vaccine Weeks Away
Orange County COVID-19 hospitalizations continued to climb on Tuesday, with 69 more patients reported. The county has reached another record-high of 946 hospitalized patients — with 235 in intensive care. Another 1,671 cases were also reported, raising the cumulative total to 90,513. No new virus-related fatalities were reported, so the death toll remains at 1,633. … Read More
This Is Why You'll Be Social Distancing and Wearing Masks a Lot Longer Than You Think
It seems like there’s more good news about COVID-19 vaccination every day. In November, companies Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca all announced promising late-stage clinical trial data on vaccines meant to prevent infection by SARS-Cov-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. By November 30, Pfizer and vaccine partner BioNTech, as well as Moderna, had already applied for … Read More
Hoag Memorial Selected as Trial Site for Promising COVID-19 Vaccine
She didn’t really peek as the short needle sunk into her arm. It pinched a little, sure, but avoided the muscle, so didn’t pack the punch of a flu shot. And just like that, recent UC Irvine graduate Chen Cao became the first of 35 people to be vaccinated in NantKwest Inc. and ImmunityBio’s phase … Read More
Orange County Continues Recent Trend of Increased COVID-19 Diagnoses, Reports 11 More Deaths
Orange County reported 262 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, continuing a trend in recent days of a sharp increase in diagnoses, as well as 11 new coronavirus-related deaths. The county’s death toll and cumulative caseload now stands at 1,423 and 57,635, respectively, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. Officials reported 302 new cases on … Read More
Phase 1 Clinical Trial for Coronavirus Vaccine
ImmunityBio, an El Segundo biotech company headed by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said Thursday it had received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to begin preliminary testing of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Hoag Hospital Newport Beach will start recruiting 35 adult volunteers this month for the Phase 1 trial, which is designed to monitor … Read More
Avoiding Care During the Pandemic Could Mean Life or Death
These days, Los Angeles acting teacher Deryn Warren balances her pain with her fear. She’s a bladder cancer patient who broke her wrist in November 2019. She still needs physical therapy for her wrist, and she’s months late for a cancer follow-up. But Warren won’t go near a hospital, even though she says her wrist … Read More