Here’s some good news to start your morning: California has less Covid-19 transmission than any state in the country.
That’s according to federal officials, who on Wednesday ranked the state’s current coronavirus case rate the lowest in the nation.
Sure, there are mask mandates and other measures to credit, but most deserving of thanks is the Golden State’s high level of vaccinations.
More than 82 percent of Californians aged 12 and older have at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Only nine states have more of their populations immunized.
The surge of the Delta variant has been a real-life experiment in the effectiveness of vaccines, one that appears to have helped Gov. Gavin Newsom survive a recall election on Tuesday. For the most part, places with high vaccination rates have been protected from the virus.
And in California, the Delta surge appears to have done something else as well: pushed vaccination rates even higher.
The number of people getting vaccinated here began to stall in June, but then spiked as the Delta variant took hold in late July. Ultimately, about 1.6 million Californians got a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine in August, up from the 1.1 million who did so in July.
It’s difficult to tease out what exactly led to the rise in vaccinations. California has recently mandated vaccines for state employees, teachers and health care workers. There’s also been new evidence of the strong protections the vaccines offer, even against the Delta variant.
Some Californians may have been persuaded to seek out a shot after witnessing first-hand harm wrought by the virus. We’ve all heard stories of people hospitalized with Covid-19, struggling to breathe, and wishing they had gotten the vaccine.
Since early August, the biggest rise in vaccinations in California has been in the San Joaquin Valley, the Sacramento region and far Northern California — parts of the state that have recently been hardest hit by coronavirus cases.
Those regions had low vaccination rates to begin with, so they admittedly had more room to increase. But it’s likely that some people were also influenced by seeing overwhelmed hospitals in their communities.
“The question is: What gets you to make a different decision today than you’ve made the last few months?” said UCSF epidemiologist Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo. “I think fear is somewhat of a motivator, unfortunately.”
Bibbins-Domingo told me she thinks that social pressure, community outreach and availability of the shots also play a role in who gets vaccinated. The coming months will reveal which strategies work best as California health officials try to encourage holdouts to get immunized.
The Delta variant is too contagious to wipe out, even in communities with high vaccination rates, Bibbins-Domingo said. But the shots will remain an essential part of minimizing future surges.
“It all starts and ends with vaccination. It doesn’t mean once you cross some magical threshold, the virus magically disappears,” she told me. “How many people are vaccinated — it’s like how many barriers can you put up to withstand the onslaught.”
For more:
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Los Angeles County officials said Wednesday that proof of vaccination will be required to enter indoor bars, clubs and other drinking establishments starting next month.
Contra Costa County announced earlier this week that customers would have to show vaccine cards at bars, restaurants and gyms. San Francisco already has a similar mandate in place.
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The unvaccinated are 11 times more likely than the vaccinated to die from Covid-19.
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Look up Covid-19 rates in your California county with our coronavirus tracker. Or explore global trends in coronavirus spread here.
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Researchers are beginning yearlong studies to examine any possible connections between vaccination and irregular menstruation.
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California counties with the lowest vaccination rates were most likely to vote to oust Newsom, finds an analysis from The Los Angeles Times.
If you read one story, make it this
President Biden’s proposal to make booster shots available to adults was supposed to roll out next week. But amid a chorus of dissent inside and outside government, the plan’s future is up in the air.
Read the full story from my colleagues.
Where we’re traveling
A writer went searching for Asian American history in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Read more about a California Gold Rush town called Chinese Camp.
What to Know About Covid-19 Booster Shots
The F.D.A. authorized booster shots for a select group of people who received their second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at least six months ago. That group includes: Pfizer recipients who are 65 or older or who live in long-term care facilities; adults who are at high risk of severe Covid-19 because of an underlying medical condition; health care workers and others whose jobs put them at risk. People with weakened immune systems are eligible for a third dose of either Pfizer or Moderna four weeks after the second shot.
Regulators have not authorized booster shots for recipients of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines yet, but an F.D.A. panel is scheduled to meet to weigh booster shots for adult recipients of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
The C.D.C. has said the conditions that qualify a person for a booster shot include: hypertension and heart disease; diabetes or obesity; cancer or blood disorders; weakened immune system; chronic lung, kidney or liver disease; dementia and certain disabilities. Pregnant women and current and former smokers are also eligible.
The F.D.A. authorized boosters for workers whose jobs put them at high risk of exposure to potentially infectious people. The C.D.C. says that group includes: emergency medical workers; education workers; food and agriculture workers; manufacturing workers; corrections workers; U.S. Postal Service workers; public transit workers; grocery store workers.
It is not recommended. For now, Pfizer vaccine recipients are advised to get a Pfizer booster shot, and Moderna and Johnson & Johnson recipients should wait until booster doses from those manufacturers are approved.
Yes. The C.D.C. says the Covid vaccine may be administered without regard to the timing of other vaccines, and many pharmacy sites are allowing people to schedule a flu shot at the same time as a booster dose.
Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.
Tell us
Between the wildfires, pandemic and drought, this summer in California hasn’t been easy.
So with Sept. 22 marking the end of the season, I’m asking for you to share what has helped you make it through. Maybe it was a vacation you had postponed, a trashy TV show, a delicious meal you cooked or your nightly stroll.
Email me your favorite summer memory at CAtoday@nytimes.com along with your name and the city where you live. If you want to include a picture, please make sure it’s oriented horizontally.
And before you go, some good news
Fewer than five percent of career firefighters in the nation are women. This camp in Northern California is trying to change that.
In 2018, Alameda County fire captain Kimberly Larson started a nonprofit that hosts camps for high schoolers across the Bay Area to introduce women to nontraditional careers like firefighting, reports The San Francisco Examiner.
At this year’s camp, smaller than usual because of the pandemic, enthusiasm was at an all-time high.
“So many of them this time around said … ‘we’re going to be firefighters,’” San Francisco Fire Capt. Julie Mau told the newspaper. “Just very, very self-assured, very determined.”
