For months, medical experts across the Bay Area keep saying the best way to reduce infections is to increase vaccinations.
Most of the mass vaccination sites across the region have closed, but pharmacies are still stocked with all three approved jabs, and some counties have started hosting special night time clinics.
In downtown Campbell Friday, a pop-up clinic was set up right on the street.
Zakiulla Sultani, 18, said he got vaccinated because it was just too easy and hadn’t had time to do it until then.
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“Because I was very busy. I'm a professional athlete, so I travel a lot so that's why I was not able to do this,” he said. “But I was just walking here, and I just got the vaccine, and I'm happy.”
In Santa Clara County, vaccine clinics like the one in Campbell are set up to try to make it as easy as possible for people to get their shots.
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But it's still slow going, with about 20 people showing up Friday.
On busy nights, they'll get about 100, but that doesn't happen often.
Because the Delta variant is so transmissible, it's managing to cause a significant rise in COVID-19 cases, so sites like these are popping up in more places. Like in Castro Valley at the First Presbyterian Church of Hayward FirstPres.
“I think it's really important to have these vaccination clinics in the community, especially in underserved communities,” said Aaron Horner of the church. “Especially those that have high populations of people of color, and lower income families, just because access has been really difficult.”
Even though many Bay Area counties have relatively high vaccination rates, the number of people who have not gotten their shot is still pretty significant.
“Here in San Francisco, we have 76% that are fully vaccinated. However, that still does leave tens of thousands of San Franciscans who haven't yet got vaccine,” said Dr. Susan Phillip of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “And among them are people who are not yet eligible, including our children under the age of 12.”
So, to try and get those who are eligible, public health agencies will continue taking the shots to the people using mobile vaccine clinics.
