SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — The northern parts of Sacramento County are seeing low vaccination rates, and public health officials say misinformation is playing a large part.
North Highlands, Antelope, and Rio Linda are the communities with the lowest vaccination rates, according to the Sacramento County Public Health Department.
“We know there’s a certain percentage of the population that is choosing not to get vaccinated and I suspect misinformation and disinformation are playing a role in that,” said Nick Mori with Sacramento County Public Health.
At Kay Dix, a pear farm in Walnut Grove, the vaccine is being brought to agriculture workers while they are on their break.
“Here in Walnut Grove and the Delta, the outskirts of Sacramento County, folks here don’t have a local pharmacy, a local CVS, a local Walgreens. They have to travel 30 minutes out back into the city the closest city is Elk Grove to get vaccinated,” Health Director Mao Vang said.
As the delta variant is on the rise across the state, minorities continue to be vaccinated at the lowest rate.
According to Sacramento Public Health, 17% of Hispanics and 7% of Blacks in the county are vaccinated compared to 40% of whites.
With thousands expected to attend the Mariachi Festival of Sacramento this weekend, organizers say they plan to have the vaccine available as well as COVID testing in an effort to vaccinate Latinos and increase vaccination rates in the county.
"Even if they don’t want to get the vaccine but they want to make sure they don’t have the variant they can get tested,” Lily Wyattwith the La Familia Counseling Center said.
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