SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With just over three weeks until California reopens on June 15, counties in our area are working to vaccinate residents in zip codes with lower vaccination rates.
According to the California Department of Public Health website, vaccination rates show that about 48% of Sacramento County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. But a closer look at the zip codes within the county reveals disparities.
As shown by an LA Times map that was last updated on Tuesday, May 18, the zip code covering parts of Midtown shows 76% of people have received at least a first dose, compared to 31% in the zip code directly north of it.
"If you compare that with the health equity status for each zip code, you’ll find that in general underserved or disadvantaged communities have lower vaccination rates," said Dr. Olivia Kasirye, Sacramento County public health officer.
Dr. Kasirye said when vaccines were initially rolled out and supply was limited, access was an issue for certain areas.
"We only had high throughout sites like Cal Expo which required someone to be able to drive there," she explained. "Also the prioritization was based on occupation."
In Placer County, vaccination rates for at least a first dose were between 43 and 57% in Rocklin, Roseville and Lincoln areas where large-scale vaccination clinics were held. However, up the hill, Colfax, Foresthill and Kings Beach ranged from 29 to 39%.
"In a community like Foresthill, they don’t have a pharmacy," explained Michael Romero with Placer County Public Health and Human Services. "In Colfax—they’ve got one.
Like Kasirye, Romero also pointed to access being among the reasons for lower vaccination rates in some zip codes.
In hopes of targeting communities with lower vaccination rates, he said Placer County would host several free clinics in Colfax, Kings Beach and Foresthill throughout June.
"They're going to be after hours, in the community," Romero explained. "We'll do a lot of publicity in. hopes that people will take advantage of the opportunity."
Sacramento was taking on a similar approach. Kasirye said the focus was on areas like Del Paso Heights and North Sacramento, where the county was working with community-based agencies, churches, schools, and has launched pop-up clinics.
"One place we've had these clinics is at Grant High School in the Del Paso Heights area where we had one of our partners and volunteers actually going door to door and talking to people and convincing them to get registered for a clinic," Kasirye explained. "We’re telling them, 'hey, June 15 is coming, and the only protection we will have is the vaccine and it takes time to be fully vaccinated, so now is the time to get the vaccine."
