YUBA COUNTY, Calif. — A group of doctors in Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties are pleading to be trusted when they say, "please get vaccinated."
Behind hospital doors, providers with the Yuba-Sutter-Colusa Medical Society say they’re exhausted.
“The last two to three weeks have been pretty inundated with our third and what has been the worst, so far, wave of COVID in our community,” said Kamara Graham, emergency medicine physician and medical director at Adventist Health + Rideout
Since mid-August, 10 to 27 Yuba-Sutter county ICU beds have been filled each week, according to bi-county data. It also shows that more than 94% of hospitalizations this year have been unvaccinated patients.
“We want them to be safe; we want to be able to care for everyone that comes to the emergency department into the hospital. And the best way that we can do that is to get people vaccinated and decrease our COVID numbers,” Graham said.
That’s why nearly 30 doctors signed an open letter to the three counties.
“As your medical providers, and as the people with whom you have worked, played, laughed, and cried, we must admit that we are tired. We are tired of the suffering, pain, and death that can be avoided by getting vaccinated,” the letter said in part.
The vaccination rate for Yuba-Sutter counties at 52.3%. In Colusa county, the rate is at 48.6%, according to latest data. The numbers are far less than the state’s rate of nearly 60%.
The group says they’re vaccinated and have studied the vaccines efficacy. Now, they're urging residents to trust them as medical providers and to get immunized.
“We're all coming from a place of love and caring of our community,” Graham said.
The doctors say that they recognize getting vaccinated is a personal choice, and they want to help inform and educate the public toward the best choice for their families and community.
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