"The mystery of Imperial County’s vaccination rate"
The New York Times interviewed Dr. Timothy Brewer, professor of epidemiology, about Imperial County, which has a 74% immunization rate.
![Vaccine being administered](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/hero/public/2022-11/2021.12.13_Brewer_NYT_Masthead.png?itok=6xnAqivC)
California’s coronavirus numbers contain what appears to be, at first glance, a pandemic paradox.
Imperial County is a poor and overwhelmingly Latino agricultural region in the state’s southeastern corner. Its demographics are generally linked to lower-than-average Covid-19 vaccination rates.
But the county, which is along the border with Mexico, has an immunization rate that ranks seventh out of the state’s 58 counties, the highest coverage level in Southern California.
Faculty Referenced by this Article
![Dr. Dvora Joseph Davey](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/Dvora%20Joseph%20Davey%20headshot%20Feb%202019.jpg?itok=F2RZIQRF)
Dr. Joseph Davey is an infectious disease epidemiologist with over 20 years' experience leading research on HIV/STI services for women and children.
![Robert Kim-Farley](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-11/___Robert_Kim-Farley-sq.jpg?itok=2D4uW5pC)
Robert J. Kim-Farley, MD, MPH, is a Professor-in-Residence with joint appointments in the Departments of Epidemiology and Community Health Sciences
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