By Ana B. Ibarra, Cal Matters, August 16, 2021
Imperial County, tucked into the southeast corner of California, learned early on what it meant to be a COVID-19 hotspot. The virus bulldozed through the agricultural county last spring, then again in the winter. About one in six residents has been infected, and 745 people have died.
But Imperial County has one statistic that is giving local health officials hope: 86% of its eligible population has been vaccinated with at least one dose. It’s one of the best vaccination rates in California, eclipsed only by Marin and Santa Clara counties and tied with San Francisco. Statewide the rate is 74%.
In addition, Imperial was one of only 11 counties in mid-July where more than half of its residents on Medi-Cal, the state health insurance program for low-income people, were vaccinated. That’s a sign that it is faring better than most counties in protecting its disadvantaged residents from COVID-19.
Comments (0)