The California Department of Public Health released new numbers this week showing higher rates of COVID-19.
Central Coast doctors say many people contracting COVID-19 are not vaccinated.
“In the last couple of weeks, I’ve definitely seen people with COVID complaints and their tests are coming out positive,” said Twin Cities Community Hospital Emergency Room Chair, Cinnamon Redd.
As of July 1, the seven-day positivity rate for COVID-19 is at 1.4% in California. Just two weeks prior, it was 0.7%.
“Fortunately, a lot of them are young people who tend to do well from COVID. We actually have had a few hospitalizations as well,” said Redd.
And as of July 1, over 41 million vaccine doses have been administered statewide. Others who choose not to get the vaccine have been seen recently with rising COVID symptoms.
“The people that tend to come in and be admitted to the hospital now have not received the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Redd.
“People that are eligible for vaccinations should be getting those vaccinations, not only getting them for themselves but protecting others and their community,” said Twin Cities Community Hospital Physician, George Lum.
Local doctors say the main reason for steering clear of the vaccine is vaccine hesitancy.
“There are a lot of people that I’ve seen interviewed who express vaccine hesitancy because they have lots of questions. If they have questions, they need to ask those questions and have them answered to their satisfaction,” Lum said.
With the Delta variant being monitored by the California Department of Public Health, the fear of COVID-19 is still alive among those working on the front lines.
“The Delta variant is considered to be twice as contagious as the regular COVID variant which was already twice as contagious as influenza,” said Redd.
It is recommended those who are unvaccinated not attend social gatherings.
“This weekend is the 4th of July and people are going to be at family gatherings and getting together. If you haven’t been vaccinated, you still need to be cautious," said Redd.
There have been over 63,000 COVID-19 related deaths in California since the start of the pandemic.
To find out more about the state's COVID-19 statistics, visit this website.