Half of SLO has one of the best vaccine rates — the other half has one of the worst. Why?
Nearly three-quarters of residents in one San Luis Obispo zip code have gotten at least one COVID-19 shot — while on the other side of town, far fewer residents appear to be vaccinated, state data shows.
What’s causing such a stark discrepancy in neighboring areas?
California Department of Public Health data shows 74% of residents in the 93401 zip code have gotten at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, as of June 16. This means they’ve gotten one or both doses of the two-shot Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, or they’ve gotten the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
But only about 36% residents in the 93405 zip code have gotten at least one COVID-19 shot, according to state data.
The 93401 and 93405 zip codes are the biggest in the city of San Luis Obispo. The 93401 zip code includes the downtown area, the southeast side of the city and Edna Valley.
The 93405 zip code, which is on the other side of Highway 101, includes the neighborhoods around Cal Poly, the northwest side of the city and Cuesta College.
The 93405 vaccination rate is among the lowest in San Luis Obispo County. Only Bradley’s 93426 zip code — which straddles San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties — has a smaller share of residents who’ve gotten at least one shot with about 30%.
Shandon’s 93461 zip code, where close to 39% of residents have gotten at least one shot, is not far behind.
So why is there such a data discrepancy in San Luis Obispo?
“This is complicated,” said Michelle Shoresman, a county Public Health spokeswoman, told The Tribune in an email. “It’s hard to know with certainty from where the discrepancy comes between vaccination rates in 93401 and 93405.”
Even so, Public Health officials believe the high concentration of Cal Poly and Cuesta students living in the 93405 zip code contributes to the appearance that fewer people in that area are vaccinated, Shoresman said.
“We suspect that many vaccinated college students who live in zip code 93405 (and are thus included in our population denominator for that zip code) may have used (their) home residence (or parent) address for their immunization record,” she said. “Thus, they would not be counted in our local numbers of vaccinated residents in that zip code.”
This story was originally published June 22, 2021 at 10:02 AM.
