SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — At least 25% of the population in most US states is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In California, those numbers are even higher.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reports that nearly 34% of Californians are fully vaccinated. Still, many people are hesitant to get their shots.
"It's never been easier to get a shot than it is now," Aimee Sisson, the Yolo County Health Officer said.
Scrolling through websites like South Sacramento's Pannell Clinic, you'll find hundreds of open vaccine appointments -- quite a different story from just a couple of weeks ago.
"I think what that shows is that, in terms of vaccine distribution and the vaccine sites, there's still work to do with that. There's still work to do to reach the communities, to reach the people that need the vaccines," Dr. Dean Blumberg, Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis Children's Hospital said.
Blumberg said that also means supply is finally catching up with demand, but he's warning about a lot of misinformation out there that could be turning people away.
"There's a lot of conspiracy theories out there. There's a lot of unfounded allegations. A lot of them have a tiny amount of true scientific information associated with them that make them sound like they're valid, but [people should] go to a mainstream source and talk to them about it," he said.
According to Sacramento County Public Health, vaccine hesitancy is around 12% in the county. Statewide, it's about 11%. For perspective, those numbers are closer to 30% in southern states like Mississippi, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"So that is some progress, but we still have a long way to go in reaching more of our communities," Dr. Olivia Kasirye, the Sacramento County Public Health Officer said.
Forty-four percent of people in Yolo County have received at least one dose of the vaccine and that number is around 50% for Sacramento County. But in order to reach herd immunity, health officials say somewhere between 70% to 90% of the population needs to be vaccinated.
"Vaccines are the way out of this pandemic. They're really our ticket back to normal," Sisson said.
So how can you talk to a friend or family member who might still be hesitant?
"I think the first step is trying to figure out why that single person, that individual is hesitant, and then tailor your answers based on that. Everybody is different and I think that very personalized approach is what's important," she said.
Dr. Sisson said if someone is concerned the vaccine hasn't been fully tested...
"Providing them information about not only the extensive clinical trials with hundreds of thousands of people around the world but also now this amazing safe track record," she said. "Millions of Americans have received them with minimal side effects."
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