Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday the state has reached the milestone of 80% of all eligible California residents receiving at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
“We still have work to do but this is a momentous occasion to be able to announce at a statewide level — a state of 40 million people, a state that has a population of 21 state populations combined — that we have broken now 80% of all eligible Californians having received at least one dose,” Newsom said during an appearance in Oakland. “That’s top 10 in the United States.
“… We continue to be mindful of our responsibility to do more and do better, particularly for diverse communities,” he said, noting that the Latino and Black communities still have generally lower vaccination rates across the state.
Newsom said the state has been averaging more than 600,000 doses administered each of the last two weeks, and over 500,000 for five consecutive weeks.
“As of this week, we’re 44% higher in our vaccine doses being administered than we were after the Fourth of July holiday weekend,” he said. “We’re seeing progress. We’re seeing incremental increase in total number of vaccine doses. But again, 80% is not where we need to go. We still need to reach out to those that are on the fence.”
He noted that the state is working ” to deal with the misinformation and the intentional disinformation” circulating about the vaccines, particularly on social media.
According to the governor, the state’s average rate of people testing positive for the virus has fallen to 4.6%, down from 7.1% a few weeks ago. He said by comparison, the positivity rate in Florida is 18.7%, and in Texas it’s 16%.
