Doctors say vaccination rates “stall” as COVID-19 rises

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For weeks, doctors have been talking about how contagious the Delta variant of COVID-19 is.

That’s one factor for why the virus is spreading quickly again, but doctors also say not enough people are vaccinated.

LOCAL STORY: Police issue public safety alert for Jacksonville’s Northside

The Florida Department of Health shows new cases and percent-positivity increased while the number of vaccinations slowed down in the week between the end of June and the beginning of July.

Action News Jax medical expert Dr. Michelle Aquino, who is treating COVID patients at Baptist Hospital, says many local counties are stalling in vaccination rates.

The department of health shared vaccination rates in some of Action News Jax’s viewing areas from July 2 to 8:

Duval County: 48%

St. Johns County: 61%

Clay County: 41%

Nassau County: 50%

Baker County: 29%

Aquino says giving shots to those who still aren’t vaccinated will help slow the spread.

”Herd immunity is important and this is why. When our vaccination process stalls, our vaccination numbers don’t increase, the variants continue increasing, we do not reach herd immunity, and that leads to more deaths,” she said.

©2021 Cox Media Group