Despite the recent expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to more Yolo County residents — and a plethora of available vaccine doses — the pace of vaccinations administered throughout the county has slowed in recent weeks. In the city of Davis, where residents have been most enthusiastic about vaccination, 67 percent of all residents had received at least one dose through May 17, according to Jenny Tan, the county’s public information officer. But that was only up from 63.1 percent of residents two weeks earlier. By comparison, in the seven days before that, the percentage of Davis residents who had received at least one vaccine dose increased from 57.2 percent to 63.1 percent The city of Woodland saw the percentage of vaccinated residents increase from 49.9 percent to 53.7 percent between May 3 and May 17, while the city of Winters had the smallest increase in residents with at least one vaccine dose, from 46.3 percent on May 3 to 49.2 percent on May 17. West Sacramento, meanwhile, continues to lag behind the rest of the county when it comes to vaccinations, but that city did see the percentage of residents who have received at least one vaccine dose increase from 38.8 percent to 42.6 percent. Local health officials have said that county residents who were most enthusiastic about getting a COVID-19 vaccine have now done so, and the roughly half of Yolo County residents who haven’t yet include those under 12 as well as a sizable population of residents who are vaccine-hesitant or refuse to get one altogether. Convincing the latter groups will be key in getting the county to herd immunity. “Herd, or population immunity, means that enough people in a community are protected from getting a disease because they’ve already had the disease or because they’ve been vaccinated,” Tan noted. “Herd immunity makes it hard for the disease to spread from person to person. It even protects those who cannot be vaccinated like newborns or people who are allergic to the vaccine.” And while the percentage of the population that needs to have protection to achieve herd immunity varies by disease, the more contagious a disease is, the greater the proportion of the population that needs to be immune to the disease to stop its spread. Measles, for example, is so contagious that it is estimated that 94 percent of the population must be immune to interrupt the chain of transmission, Tan said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said, “is still learning how many people have to be vaccinated against or immune to COVID-19 before the population can be considered protected. “So until we know what that number is for herd or population immunity, as many people who are eligible for the vaccine should get the vaccine.” Vaccines remain plentiful throughout the county. Both Northern Valley Indian Health in Woodland and Sutter Health in Davis are now vaccinating anyone ages 12 and up, including nonmembers. To make an appointment, call NVIH at 530-781-1447 or Sutter Health at 888-987-6115. The county is holding three public clinics this week where both the Pfizer vaccine — the only one approved for those under age 18 — and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be available. The clinic on Thursday, May 27 will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Health and Human Services Agency, 137 N Cottonwood, in Woodland. Two county clinics will be held on Saturday, May 29. The first is at the Woodland Farmers Market on First Street from 9 a.m. to noon and the second at Holy Cross Church, 1321 Anna St., in West Sacramento from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Both will offer Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. More vaccine options can be found at MyTurn.ca.gov or by calling 833-422-4255. Overall, Yolo County has been one of the better performing counties when it comes to getting shots in arms. With just over 43 percent of county residents fully vaccinated, Yolo County ranks 17th out of California’s 58 counties, according to data compiled by the Los Angeles Times. Just over 56 percent of county residents have received at least one dose.
