Vaccination rates in 2 Whatcom regions under 50%, but health department’s not giving up

While most of Whatcom County has at least initiated COVID-19 vaccination, two regions are lagging behind. As of last week, 49% of the residents within the region covered by the Nooksack Valley School District and 45% of those living in the region covered by the Mount Baker School District had begun a vaccination cycle, according to data released by the Whatcom County Health Department Tuesday, Oct. 12. Elsewhere in the county, at least 50% of the population has started vaccination in each of the other five school district regions, the health department reported, with the Bellingham leading the way at 74%. Blaine, Ferndale and Meridian each have had more than 60% of their respective populations initiate vaccination.

So why have rates remained so low in the county’s eastern most reaches? “It seems to be a combination of access and individual decisions,” Whatcom County Health Department Communications Specialist Melissa Morin told The Bellingham Herald in an email.“ Access issues include transportation, language and cultural barriers, and work schedules that don’t mesh with clinic hours.”

Morin said the health department and its partners in those areas have been working hard with grass-root campaigns to increase vaccination rates.