Local doctors say COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is slowing down return to normal
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Santa Barbara County’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout has slowed down. On Tuesday Santa Barbara County Public Health’s mobile clinic had 250 unused doses of the vaccine.
Cottage Health is also seeing difficulty scheduling appointments. Both have allowed walk-ins to fill unused appointment slots.
Santa Barbara’s top doctors are now weighing in on the vaccine hesitancy.
Chief Medical Officer for Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, Dr. Charles Fenzi, said those who don’t want the vaccine are selfish. “This is not about you. It’s about the community. So if you get COVID, you’re at risk of spreading that to somebody who may not be fine if they get it, like your mother or your grandmother.”
Dr. Fenzi added for the pandemic to end, we need to reach herd immunity. The fastest way to achieve that is if everyone 16 and older get vaccinated as soon as possible. And the more vaccine hesitancy there is, the longer it will take to get to herd immunity.
Santa Barbara County Public Health officer, Dr. Henning Ansorg, wrote in a statement, "Even if you previously had COVID-19, you should still get vaccinated. Recent research suggests that people who have had COVID-19 should be immunized."
To sign-up for a COVID-19 vaccine visit MyTurn or call 2-1-1.
