The Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard includes two separate tabs showing detailed data on vaccines. I’ll post screenshots here, but the Dashboard shows more detail and has background notes on each bit of data.
Vaccines Summary
Click image to enlarge.
First is the Vaccines Summary tab. Only 65% of eligible Solano residents have been fully vaccinated, lowest in the Bay Area. It is surprising to me that the County has set a target goal of only 240,000 eligible residents, under 65%. We are at 100% of our goal even though we’ve only fully vaccinated 65%? That’s not right! (It is good, however, that the County projects another 1,000 vaccinations in the next 7 days.)
Vaccines – Demographics
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Second, the Vaccines Demographics tab tracks residents who have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Very interesting! See below for individual screenshots of charts from the Vaccines Demographics tab.
Kristina Skierka of Lucas Valley makes an appointment for her second COVID-19 vaccine with Jackson Murphy at the drive-through vaccination location at Larkspur Ferry Terminal in Marin County in April. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle
Marin County has marked a new pandemic-fighting milestone, with more than 90% of its eligible population now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
According to county data, 90.7% of residents 12 and older were fully vaccinated as of Monday. A whopping 97.3% of Marin’s eligible population has received at least one vaccine dose.
The county this weekend tweeted about surpassing the 90% milestone for vaccinations among those eligible, thanking residents “for choosing to be vaccinated for the health of our community,”
Marin County health officer Matt Willis said that means the community is “better protected,” which is measured by “lives saved.”
“It’s gratifying to see the impact,” he said. “There is a clear correlation between communities with high vaccination rates and low case rates.”
Marin’s average daily cases over the past week is just over 10 per 100,000 residents — the lowest figure in the Bay Area and less than half of the figure in California, the state with the lowest case rate in the nation.
Willis said a number of benefits and privileges in Marin County have helped it achieve high vaccination rates, driven by a “strong belief in science” and “strong demand for vaccines.” Willis said the county is a more highly educated, higher-income community, and is also older, with a median age of 47.3, the highest in the Bay Area.
With data showing disparities in vaccination rates broken down along political lines in the U.S. — with rates lower for Republicans than for Democrats — he noted that the county is liberal-leaning, with 61% identifying as Democrats and 13% as Republicans.
Willis also attributed Marin’s vaccination success to the tight-knit nature of the county, contributions from both the public and private sectors, and the county emergency operations center’s coordination efforts.
The Bay Area in general has boasted high vaccination rates, especially when compared to the rest of the state and country. According to the Los Angeles Times vaccine tracker, the Bay Area’s counties with the exception of Solano are at the top of the rankings for vaccination rates statewide.
San Mateo County has the next highest vaccination rate after Marin, with 84% of the eligible population fully vaccinated. Solano County has the lowest vaccination rate in the Bay Area, with 65% of eligible residents fully vaccinated.
[BenIndy editor: See also detailed data on Solano County vaccines as of 9/20/21 from the Solano County COVID-19 Dashboard. The “Vaccines – Demographics” tab shows data by race, age, gender and city. – R.S.]
Marin County data by age category shows the highest vaccination rate is in the 65 and older group with 93% of eligible residents fully vaccinated. The next highest age group is 18- to 34-year-olds at 88%, while the least vaccinated age group is 12- to 17-year-olds at 82%.
According to the U.S. Census, 46% of Marin County residents are 50 or older, 32% is 20 to 49, and 23% is 0 to 19. By comparison, in Solano , the Bay Area’s lowest vaccinated county, 36% of residents are 50 or older, 40% are 20 to 49, and 25% are 0 to 19.
County data shows that among racial and ethnic groups in Marin, Asians have the highest rate at 89% of eligible residents fully vaccinated, followed by Hispanic or Latino residents at 86% and white residents at 83%. Black and African American residents are the lowest vaccinated group in the county at 78%. (The county notes that these percentages may be underreported by five to 10 percentage points because of missing race and ethnicity data in state vaccination records.)
Willis said similar to many places across the country, “Some members of historically marginalized groups have well-founded reasons to mistrust what they might see as a medical establishment,” especially in the county’s Black and African American communities, which Willis said is “not something that can be solved overnight.”
Mercedes Morgan of Performing Stars helps assemble care packages that will be delivered to COVID-positive residents in public housing in Marin City in July. Performing Stars has helped with COVID vaccination outreach efforts in Marin County. Alvin A.H. Jornada/Special to The Chronicle
But the strong overall demand for vaccines allowed the county to focus its outreach on marginalized groups, Willis said, by working with trusted leaders in the Black and African American communities, particularly in Marin City and Novato. He said the effort, which has included deploying mobile teams there, has resulted in a recent increase in vaccinations.
Willis also said the county has had a “reputation of being a bastion of anti-vaccine sentiment historically,” that is a “small but very vocal group” of mostly affluent white residents.
“Our strategy is really not to waste too much time trying to fight that battle with people who have basically made that decision decades ago as part of a fixed belief,” he said. “Despite the fact they may be vocal, they are a relatively small subset of the population and our numbers show that.”
He said at this point he is “fairly confident” that those who are not vaccinated are “by choice and not for lack of opportunity,” and believes the county did what it could to “remove any barriers related to geography or access.”
Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
The Chronicle has published two excellent reviews this week contrasting Solano County with our Bay Area neighbors. The first below profiles Solano with stats and detailed interviews with Solano leaders and residents.
In Solano County, the Bay Area’s COVID outlier, masks are anything but universal
SF Chronicle, by Kellie Hwang, Danielle Echeverria, Sep. 19, 2021
A man walks along Main Street in Vacaville. Solano County, has had the Bay Area’s poorest record on coronavirus cases and vaccinations [Photos by Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle]Paulie Spacco believes anyone infected with the coronavirus should just “let the body do its thing” and build antibodies, even though an 18-month pandemic and the deaths of 1 in 500 Americans point to the dangers of following such a strategy.
Spacco, a Vacaville resident and small-business owner in his 60s, and his friend Gregorio Serrao, in his 70s, both say they have no intention of getting vaccinated and oppose restricting people’s activities to try to control the spread of COVID-19. Over sandwiches recently at La Borgata Italian Deli on Vacaville’s Main Street, the two dismissed evidence proving that masks work to help block transmission of virus-laden droplets.
“At this point, if you get sick, that’s on you,” Serrao said. And it’s just inevitable, they agreed, that “you’re going to lose some people.”
Their views, which are at odds with national health advice about the coronavirus, are not hard to find in Solano County, a Bay Area outlier when it comes to the pandemic almost from the start.
Paulie Spacco (left) and Gregorio Serrao stop in La Borgata Deli in Vacaville. Both are opposed to vaccines and preventive measures such as masks to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
The inland expanse dotted with suburbs and medium-size cities is the least vaccinated of the Bay Area’s nine counties. Just 54% of its 450,000 residents are fully vaccinated, compared with 67% in Napa and Sonoma, the counties with the next-lowest rate. It has a high daily infection rate — currently 18.6 cases per 100,000 people, the highest of any Bay Area county except Napa according to state data — and a hospitalization rate two to three times higher than that of other local counties.
And while the county’s case numbers, like those throughout the Bay Area, have shown improvement lately, the approach of local leaders — who have been less willing to restrict residents’ activities and impose mandates — has consistently set Solano apart.
It is the only Bay Area county that doesn’t require universal masking in indoor public settings, although two of its cities — Vallejo and Benicia — have imposed mandates. Solano lagged behind several other Bay Area counties in imposing stay-home orders last year, waiting until the state required it. Tuesday, Solano supervisors voted down a proposal requiring that county employees be vaccinated, saying it should be a personal choice.
Currently only unvaccinated people are required to wear masks in indoor public settings in Solano County, in line with state policies.
Many residents and officials say they want the county to act more aggressively. Supervisor Monica Brown, for instance, whose district covers Benicia and part of Vallejo, supports a broader mask mandate.
“Our health care workers are still being inundated with COVID-19 cases,” she said at a contentious board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday, noting that it’s impossible to know whether a maskless person is vaccinated.
A woman walks by outdoor seating in a plaza along Main Street in Vacaville, Calif., on Wednesday, September 8, 2021. Solano County, has had the Bay Area’s poorest record on coronavirus cases and vaccinationsCarlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
Supervisor Mitch Mashburn said that with young children and immunocompromised people in his house, he wears a mask to be safe. Still, he doesn’t think it’s the role of the board to force people to be vaccinated or mask up.
By Roger Straw, September 21, 2021
Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County Health Officer
Fairfield Daily Republic reporter Todd Hansen receives regular updates directly from Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County Health Officer. The information shared goes well beyond what is reported on the County’s COVID dashboard.
In yesterday’s Daily Republic report, Matyas offered some details on the 6 newest COVID deaths and indicated that his count of the death toll from our recent surge is 31.
There were three women, all 70 or older, and three men, two 65 or older and one between 50 and 65. All lived at home and all had significant underlying health issues, Matyas said.
Two were vaccinated, taking that number during the surge to eight, Matyas reported.
Four of the six individuals were infected by family members; two apparently contracted the virus at parties, Matyas said.
So add 2 new deaths of vaccinated persons to a previous Matyas report of 6 who were vaccinated and died during this surge. It strikes me as somewhat alarming that over a quarter (8) of the 31 recent surge deaths were vaccinated individuals.
Today’s 2 new vaccinated deaths reportedly had “significant underlying health issues.” We are left to wonder about the previous 6 vaccinated deaths, as no further information was offered to indicate whether they had underlying health issues.
We are also left to wonder what were these underlying health issues, and how severe were they? How sick do you have to be for COVID to overcome your vaccine protection and kill you?
Finally, in his comments, I hear Dr. Matyas continuing to justify his theory that community transmission is not public transmission. He says the 4 of the deaths were caused via infections “by family members.” Interesting that Dr. Matyas doesn’t go on to describe where and how the family members caught the virus before bringing it home to these poor folks. They had to get it somewhere. Was there contact tracing? Does Matyas know how the infectors were infected?
And Matyas adds, “two apparently contracted the virus at parties.” Well, same question: where did the party-goers catch the virus before bringing it to the party? Surely not in any indoors commercial spaces, right? Surely not at work, where our county doesn’t require masks or vaccinations, right? Commerce first, public health and safety not so much.
Sorry for the snippy rhetorical questions. We know Bela’s oft-repeated unscientific answers. Aaargh…
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