Now that half of American adults have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, the nation may face a much harder challenge: convincing the rest to get vaccinated.
"The only way to defeat this is with the vaccines," said Gov. Gavin Newsom.
But he said the state is still seeing hesitancy across all communities and ethnicities.
"Sadly, and curiously - and in many respects not surprisingly - based on your political affiliations and so we have to work across all of that spectrum to address hesitancy."
Surveys show that white, evangelical men are among the most skeptical about getting vaccinated.
That's why the state is partnering with trusted messengers - like churches and community organizations - to get the word out that the vaccines are safe and effective.
"We have more sites than we’ve ever had with churches like this, over 300 church partnerships. We have more mobile sites and fixed sites, particularly to (agriculture) workers and farm workers and we continue to build out that network."
Nonetheless, the pace of vaccinations is already starting to slow. Less than a week after the state opened eligibility to everyone 16 and older, some clinics are already seeing a drop off in appointments.
Napa County’s largest mass vaccination clinic was nearly fully booked on Apr. 16, the first day after the statewide eligibility expansion. By Tuesday, a third of the appointments were still available and the scheduled for the rest of the week suggests a steep drop-off in appointments.
A check of major drugstore chains Wednesday also shows many more available shots than last week.
Health officials say the longer it takes the country to reach herd immunity, the more time the virus has to mutate into new, more dangerous variants.
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