March 19, 2021 Media Brief
Orange County
Community efforts to bring COVID vaccines to hardest hit communities is paying off
Efforts to increase coronavirus vaccinations to Orange County’s hardest hit areas look to be working after various community groups and clinics fought for months to bolster supplies.
Voice of OC: Coronavirus triggered OC’s deadliest year in recent times
A year ago today, Orange County saw its first death from coronavirus – a man in his 70s whose identity has never been released. “COVID-19 deaths were overwhelmingly the most common final cause of deaths for the months of December and January 2021,” according to an internal report Voice of OC obtained through a public records request.
Voice of OC: County doctors, nurses, community organizations stepped up to curb the virus
The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be Orange County’s deadliest year, with over 4,500 county residents killed by the virus, while doctors, nurses, bands of communities organizations and health clinics stepped up to fight the spread of the virus.
OC Register: Epic footage shows glowing blue waves in Laguna Beach
Photographers Mark Girardeau and Patrick Coyne waited Wednesday for waves to glow in the dark at just the right spot, a ritual they had repeated for more than a month last year when the rare bioluminescence phenomenon showed up across the Southern California coastline.
OC Register: Asian Americans grieve, organize in wake of Atlanta attacks
Hundreds of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Orange County turned to social media to air their anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness. The hashtag #StopAsianHate was a top trending topic on Twitter hours after the shootings Tuesday evening.
Labor
Voice of OC: Year of Coronavirus has grocery chains, workers facing off over hero pay
Orange County grocery store clerks have emerged as key frontline workers during the pandemic over the last year, alongside medical workers and others, risking infection while helping scores of residents get food.
California
KTLA: Cost to vaccinate Californian’s rises amid changes to Blue Shield oversight
The expected cost of administering COVID-19 vaccines in California grew nearly fourfold from two months ago to $1.3 billion, a price tag made public Thursday as the state also rolls back sweeping changes to its plan to centralize the delivery of doses under a program run by Blue Shield of California, The Times has learned.
Nation
AP News: Amid border surge, confusion reigns over Biden policies
Biden ended some hardline border policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump, proposed a pathway to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally and promised in an executive order to “create a humane asylum system.” But neither he nor his aides have outlined the new approach to asylum or said when it will be unveiled, creating an information void and giving rise to rumors that migrants would be allowed in..
Publication Date: March 19, 2021
