Marin Co. has highest vaccination rate in CA with 90% of eligible residents fully vaccinated
September 21, 2021
ABC7 News Article by: Luz Pena
MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) — Marin County has reached a milestone. 97 percent of this county’s eligible residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine and 90 percent are fully vaccinated, but the milestones don’t stop here.
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“Some of the lowest case rates in the state. Some of the lowest hospitalizations rates and mortality rates,” said Dr. Mat Willis, Public Health Office for Marin County.
Dr. Willis says consistency and gaining the communities trust was key.
Luz: “What has been your strategy for Marin County to get to this point?”
Dr. Willis: “It’s really been a combination of a variety of different strategies. Making sure that people who traditionally are marginalize had access to vaccines in that environment of limited supply.”
“Our key assets for us is regular communication with all of our health care providers,” he continued. “Another key strategy has been simplifying the process as much as possible.”
Dr. Willis is also attributing this milestone to mobile vaccination teams and community leaders from the African American and Latino communities doing the ground work.
“We mobilized, we did what we did last year to prepare for the vaccination phase,” said Omar Carrera, CEO of Canal Alliance.
…
Eighty percent of COVID cases in Marin County were coming from low income communities. The main hot spot was the Canal neighborhood. That’s when Marin County’s public health department began to partner with nonprofits like Canal Alliance for COVID testing back in 2020 and now vaccinating the community.
“We block a street here next to the Canal Alliance and the mobile unit comes. We have community leaders and Canal Alliance staff registering people for the vaccine and helping them go through that process.”
A strong relationship that has led Marin County to this milestone and to prioritize the most affected by the pandemic.
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