The Highest Vaccination Rate in California

The pouch of California that has emerged arsenic a person successful Covid-19 vaccinations whitethorn travel arsenic a surprise.

Seventy-eight percent of radical surviving successful Marin County are afloat vaccinated against Covid — the highest complaint of immoderate region successful California (and conscionable astir anyplace successful the nation).

But Marin County, a affluent enclave crossed the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, has historically been a hotbed for anti-vaccine sentiment, a spot wherever galore person agelong shunned regular immunizations.

There are a fewer imaginable explanations for the evident alteration of heart: The coronavirus pandemic has made the request for vaccinations precise existent portion shifting the authorities astir getting shots. And anti-vaccine estimation aside, Marin County fits the illustration of a highly vaccinated place: rich, college-educated and liberal.

But possibly much important, Covid-19 vaccinations frankincense acold person mostly been constricted to adults, with absorption to vaccines agelong focused connected imaginable effects connected young children — for whom Covid-19 vaccines became disposable lone this week.

“What we deliberation of arsenic anti-vaxxers — and historically successful Marin — is precise overmuch rooted successful puerility vaccinations,” Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an epidemiologist astatine the University of California, San Francisco, told me. “I deliberation you’re already seeing immoderate radical balking astatine the thought that they request to vaccinate their children, adjacent if they themselves are vaccinated.”

Marin County officials accidental they anticipation to administer archetypal doses to 75 percent of 5- to 11-year-olds, the newest radical eligible for a coronavirus vaccine, by aboriginal December. But galore spot that arsenic an overly ambitious target, particularly successful Marin.

Dr. Christopher Longhurst, a pediatrician who worked astatine Stanford for galore years, remembers treating children from adjacent Marin County who came successful infected with measles and different vaccine-preventable diseases.

Longhurst told maine astir a 6-week-old successful the intensive attraction portion who was admitted with whooping cough, a illness for which the babe was excessively young to beryllium vaccinated.

The babe lived successful a portion of Marin County where, due to the fact that of debased puerility vaccination levels, “herd immunity had evaporated,” helium said. The corruption killed the child.

“Long earlier Covid, I’ve been a precise large vaccine advocate,” helium said.

In Marin County successful May, an unvaccinated teacher spread the coronavirus to fractional the students successful a classroom. And this week, the region became the archetypal successful the Bay Area to lift its indoor disguise mandate, a determination immoderate criticized fixed a recent plateau successful Covid-19 cases.

But Marin County has chiefly played the portion of Covid-cautious county. Even erstwhile Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide Covid-19 vaccine request for students, the strictest successful the nation, determination was small pushback.

At a recent protestation successful Sacramento against the mandate, families from the Bay Area, and specifically Marin County, were mostly absent.

“We inactive person pockets of precise vocal vaccine refusers,” the region wellness officer, Dr. Matt Willis, told The San Francisco Chronicle, but “it’s wide the assemblage civilization has shifted.”

For years, absorption to puerility vaccinations was thing embraced by left-leaning, hippiesh types. But opposing Covid-19 vaccines is associated with President Donald J. Trump, an improbable stance successful Marin County, wherever 82 percent of voters formed ballots for President Biden successful 2020.

Still, things often go much analyzable erstwhile children get involved. Already, Covid-19 vaccination rates for 12- to 17-year-olds successful California are little than for older property groups: 60 percent compared with 71 percent for 18- to 49-year-olds.

The rates whitethorn driblet adjacent little for the latest radical to go eligible for a shot, fixed that parents thin to beryllium peculiarly protective implicit younger children.

Though Covid-19 has go a starring origin of decease among children, immoderate parents whitethorn beryllium much hesitant to vaccinate children due to the fact that their hazard of terrible unwellness is acold beneath that of adults.

In a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 27 percent of parents nationwide said they wanted to instantly vaccinate their 5- to 11-year-olds. Thirty percent said they would decidedly not get them their shots.

“I americium funny successful seeing whether the enthusiasm and the wholesale uptake of vaccinations that we’ve seen successful immoderate areas” volition construe into vaccinations for children, Bibbins-Domingo told me. “I deliberation radical are anticipating we’re not going to get the precocious rates we spot successful adults.”

The remainder of the news

• Theranos trial: The proceedings of Elizabeth Holmes has exposed the ways that blase investors tin beryllium swept up successful the hype of a blistery start-up.

• Future of the G.O.P.: This is what Glenn Youngkin’s triumph successful the Virginia governor’s contention tin thatch California Republicans, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

• The institution formerly known arsenic Facebook: The societal media elephantine Meta is discussing opening retail stores that will yet span the world.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Pico-Union shooting: The authorities lawyer general’s bureau has opened an autarkic probe into a deadly shooting by Los Angeles constabulary officers successful July, The Los Angeles Times reports.

• Vaccine verification: Los Angeles is acceptable to enactment into spot immoderate of the nation’s strictest Covid-19 vaccine verification rules, but officials won’t instantly mention those who tally afoul of the caller regulations, The Los Angeles Times reports.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

• Teacher shortage: Fresno officials person agreed to supply an further $200 stipend for substitutes who thatch 20 consecutive days, according to ABC News.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Weather warning: Flooding is expected successful low-lying areas astir Humboldt Bay this morning.

• Covid-19 successful jails: After a 76-year-old vaccinated inmate died of Covid-19, activists are informing of unsafe conditions successful Sacramento jails, The Sacramento Bee reports.

• A reprieve from drought?: Rain fell crossed parts of Northern California connected Thursday, and much was imaginable into the weekend, but forecasts were backing disconnected chances of an atmospheric stream lawsuit adjacent week, The Associated Press reports.

• PG&E settlement: Pacific Gas and Electric volition wage $125 cardinal successful costs related to the Kincade fire, which was ignited successful 2019 by the utility’s instrumentality successful Sonoma County, according to The Associated Press.

Where we’re traveling

Today’s question extremity comes from Monica Vincent, who recommends Nevada City, which is astir 60 miles northeast of Sacramento:

On my archetypal sojourn we discovered Hirschman’s Pond, which fto maine driblet close into being astatine location with the quality and quality that situation this small well-preserved Gold Rush municipality connected the occidental slope of the Sierra Nevada. Surrounded by forests, different Gold Rush towns similar Grass Valley, and the Yuba River, Nevada City transports you to different time.

As you get astatine the borderline of town, you transverse Deer Creek, which flows done the halfway of municipality arsenic a reminder that this is simply a municipality rooted successful the hunt for gold. The town’s humanities buildings present location restaurants, shops, museums and the historical Nevada Theater. They person movie festivals, euphony events and fairs. My favourite clip to sojourn is winter. Little Nevada City turns into a postcard representation for Christmas erstwhile the businesses and residents trim the municipality with tiny achromatic lights — erstwhile and if it snows, the quality is breathtaking. The municipality is affable and inviting, debased key, yet hep successful a tiny municipality benignant of way. There are saccharine BNBs and places to stay, devour and conscionable bent out. The surrounding country is afloat of hiking trails — oregon conscionable battalion a picnic luncheon and caput to Hirschman’s Pond and unwind!

Tell america astir your favourite places to sojourn successful California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll beryllium sharing much successful upcoming editions of the newsletter.

And earlier you go, immoderate bully news

I’ll fto the archetypal enactment of this nonfiction talk for itself: “Were it not for 2 goats named Thelma and Louise, Lauren Trout and Chris Angeloro whitethorn not person had a emotion story.”

Trout and Angeloro joined past period connected a yacht sailing nether the Golden Gate Bridge. Read much from The Times.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy your weekend. I’ll beryllium backmost Monday. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: First motion of the zodiac (5 letters).