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'We need to do a lot of education, outreach' | Stanislaus County lagging behind state in vaccinations

The CDC says only 35% of the population in Stanislaus County is fully vaccinated.

STOCKTON, Calif — While nearly two out of three people are fully vaccinated across California, only one out of three are fully vaccinated in Stanislaus County, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC].

However, the Stanislaus County Public Health Agency says 46% are fully vaccinated.

Either statistic is still below half the population, showing that county leaders have a lot to do to get people hesitant about the COVID-19 vaccine to get a shot.

"We need to do a lot of education, outreach," Yamilet Valladolid with Golden Valley Health Centers said. 

Communities that are especially hit hard include the Latino community. At least 51% of the positive COVID-19 cases are attributed to Latinos. The next closest race or ethnicity is white at 29%.

Community leaders said they have to keep pushing their message that the vaccine is safe and effective.

Valladolid said it is important and critical to reach people through mobile vaccinations, which would help meet people where they're at. She added that, for some, it may come down to where they get their information about the vaccine that may be holding them back.

"People may get their information from non-credible sources, and they could be biased. They could be political. It's very important that people realize they need to get their information from the source, health care," Valladolid said.

Pastor Carl Bryant with the True Light Community Church in West Modesto requested two free vaccination clinics at his church.

Three weeks ago, only three or four showed up to the first three-hour clinic. Today, only one person came.

"People went to a lot of the larger clinics earlier, so that could be the reason for it or a lot of people are vaccinated," said Bryant.

The Stanislaus County Public Health Services Agency offers free COVID-19 vaccinations at it's clinic located at 401 Paradise Road Suite E from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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