Marin Nears ‘Community Immunity’: Health Officer

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The nation’s most vaccinated county is nearing a pandemic threshold that less than a year ago would have been considered a pipe dream.

That’s according to Marin’s top health official who on Tuesday told the Board of Supervisors that the nation’s most vaccinated county per capita is nearing “community immunity.”

Marin as of May 18 had the nation’s highest rate of fully vaccinated residents according to a San Francisco Chronicle analysis of CDC data.

During Health Officer Dr. Matthew Willis said during Tuesday’s presentation to the board that Marin is expected to clear 75 percent threshold for community immunity before the state’s announced June 15 reopening.

According to WebMd: “Herd immunity, or community immunity, is when a large part of the population of an area is immune to a specific disease."

“If enough people are resistant to the cause of a disease, such as a virus or bacteria, it has nowhere to go.”

As of Wednesday, 72.8 percent of Marin residents at least 12 years of age have completed their vaccination series and 86 percent have received at least one dose according to the county’s vaccine dashboard.

The CDC considers people who are two weeks out from completing their series to be fully vaccinated.

That essentially eliminates the possibility of Marin choosing to keep COVID-19 restrictions in place after the state reopens on June 15, Willis said.

“The reason we feel ready to move beyond the blueprint in Marin County is first and most importantly that we are achieving a level of community immunity,” Willis said.

“Being the most highly vaccinated community in the nation will offer us the ability to gain the freedoms that are made possible through moving beyond the blueprint.”