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KPBS Midday Edition

Vaccinations Still Best Defense Against Contagious Delta Variant

12-year-old Pablo Cortez  received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Family Health Centers of San Diego in Barrio Logan, May 13, 2021.
Matthew Bowler
/
KPBS
12-year-old Pablo Cortez received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Family Health Centers of San Diego in Barrio Logan, May 13, 2021.

With 70 percent of eligible San Diego County residents fully vaccinated, COVID-19 cases continue to rise.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Mark Sawyer, who is a member of San Diego County’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Advisory Group, joined KPBS Midday Edition on Monday to discuss the latest on San Diego County's vaccination efforts.

"If we don't get our head around COVID, it's going to keep developing new variants - some that are even worse than the ones we've had so far," Sawyer said. "So we really need to get our population immunized and shut down the circulation."

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Sawyer also discussed the impact of workplaces mandating vaccines and the Delta variant in encouraging vaccinations. He again returned to vaccinations being the most effective tool in fighting the latest COVID surge.

"This infection is spreading wildly, and the best thing we can do to protect our families and our loved ones- and stay as close to business as usual is to get vaccinated," Sawyer said.