A 70% vaccination rate helps herd immunity. These Sacramento neighborhoods have less than 20%

Despite Sacramento County having access to more COVID-19 vaccine shots than ever before, some areas — particularly low-income neighborhoods of color — remain heavily under-vaccinated.

In Del Paso Heights, Lemon Hills and parts of Meadowview, less than 20% of residents are fully vaccinated, and less than 30% are at least partially vaccinated, as of April 30. Seven other ZIP codes in Sacramento County have similarly low vaccination rates.

In comparison, more than 40% of residents in areas like the Pocket, East Sacramento, Land Park and parts of Arden Arcade have been fully vaccinated, and more than 50% have been at least partially vaccinated.

To be clear, no single ZIP code in Sacramento County has reached a 70% vaccination rate, according to Jamie White with the local health department — the bare minimum threshold experts have identified as required to reach herd immunity.

But the disparities alarm county health officials, especially as demand for vaccination appointments have dropped significantly in the last couple weeks. The gaps in vaccine rates, apparent in the first weeks of the public rollout, have been hard to close despite considerable efforts by local health officials and advocates.

Vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, a lack of trust toward medical institutions, transportation access and more have all contributed the low inoculation rates, said Mike Nguy, the county health department’s COVID-19 health equity lead.

“There’s a lot of compounding factors,” he said during a Thursday virtual press conference. “I don’t think there’s one answer, or else we would not be in this position.”

For months, the county has worked with local community groups to deliver doses and health information to residents in ways that are culturally sensitive and multi-lingual.

Nguy said Thursday that the county is hoping to expand its efforts, reaching out to more youth-based and faith-based organizations to also spread the word on the importance of vaccination.

Given that some of the neighborhoods who have felt the most financial and health impacts of the pandemic are the same ones where vaccines lag, it’s particularly important to “build vaccine confidence,” Nguy said.

“We are also cognizant of the fact that there is a certain level of vaccine hesitancy, and that’s why it’s really important for us to work with our community-based agency partners in being able to address some of that,” said Sacramento County public health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye on Thursday.

Though demand at the county’s two mass drive-thru vaccination sites — Cal Expo and McClellan Park — have dropped dramatically, the pop-up site at the Sam and Bonnie Pannell Community Center in Meadowview has seen a “really incredible through-put,” said Rachel Allen, Sacramento County’s immunization coordinator.

For months, the county has promised at least a third mass vaccination site in South Sacramento but has failed to open one. But Allen said that now knowing there’s a “decreased appetite” for major drive-thru locations, the county plans on opening targeted pop-up sites that could take the form of community or family events.

“The needs of the community have shifted,” Allen said Thursday.

Demand for vaccines statewide has been slowing, even though more than one-third of adults in California still have not received a first dose.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Tuesday it plans to spend an additional $33 million toward community-based organizations to address vaccine hesitancy and rollout more pop-up sites.

“To bolster vaccine access in hard-to-reach communities, the state is moving away from mass vaccination sites and toward more targeted outreach with small clinics in communities with the highest disease burden,” stated a press release from the Governor’s office.

The number of COVID-19 infections in Sacramento County is decreasing, but the current case rate is still higher than the state’s threshold to loosen restrictions further. The county’s poorer neighborhoods and communities of color are still seeing a higher positivity rate — the percentage of tests coming back positive.

The positivity rate among the county’s underserved neighborhoods is 4%, according to state data, higher than the overall positivity rate of 2.8%.

Other areas where vaccine rates have remained low include Elverta, Rio Linda, North Highlands, Foothill Farms and Old North Sacramento.

Currently, anyone 16 and over can get a vaccine in Sacramento County. Find appointments on the county’s public health department website or at myturn.ca.gov, or just head to Cal Expo or McClellan Park for a shot, no appointment necessary.

This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 1:02 PM.