San Rafael, CA – Marin County has achieved an important milestone in the pandemic response, with 90 percent of eligible residents now vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. As of today, nearly 201,000 of Marin’s approximately 223,000 eligible residents have received at least one dose. 81.6 percent of eligible residents have completed their vaccine series.
“Reaching the 90% mark is very well timed. It coincides with our wide reopening last week, while we see variants of concern circulating in our community” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s Public Health Officer.
The Governor retired the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy on June 15 and moved to the Beyond the Blueprint framework which no longer restricts activities or businesses. Marin is aligned with the State and is not implementing any additional restrictions.
Marin County Public Health has reported that most COVID-19 now circulating in Marin is the Delta variant, a more infectious strain first identified in India. Current vaccines are proving to be protective against the Delta variant.
Two recent outbreaks among unvaccinated residents in Marin have been tied to the B.1.617.2 Delta variant, labeled a variant of concern by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One was centered in the adjacent towns of Fairfax and San Anselmo, and one tied to school in Novato. Both outbreaks were controlled within 14 days and are no longer active.
“When clusters of cases rise and fall quickly among unvaccinated people, and don’t really spread further, this is what herd immunity looks like,” said Willis. “We’re seeing what community immunity could look like in Marin. The current cases are among unvaccinated residents, which is why we’re motivated to get closer to 100%.”
As the number of unvaccinated residents shrinks, Marin County Public Health can refine its outreach and education strategies to reach the remaining unvaccinated. These include targeting specific communities or homebound residents who may have missed the opportunity to visit a mass vaccination site.
Marin County has focused on equity in the local vaccination strategy, and LatinX residents are the most highly vaccinated group in Marin.
Like most counties across the state and nation, Marin now has more vaccine supply than demand and is advocating with the State of California to redistribute unused vaccine to needy areas before it expires. Mexico has less than 13% fully vaccinated among its population, and Honduras and Guatemala each have less than 1% fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data.
“The variants remind us of the global nature of this pandemic. It’s time to consider global equity at this point,” added Willis.
Marin County Public Health continues to partner with healthcare facilities to monitor for outbreaks and for variants of concern, and will keep the community updated on any significant changes. Public Health also offers a daily mobile vaccination clinics in its quest to protect the remaining 10% of eligible residents. Find a vaccination location near you by visiting GetVaccinatedMarin.org.