Americans remain deeply polarized over the renewed push to get the country vaccinated.
Presidio County -- a remote area of southwest Texas, home to approximately 7,800 people -- while rural, boasts the state's highest vaccination rate, with nearly every one of its eligible residents fully vaccinated.
Big Bend Regional Medical Center serves approximately 25,000 residents in a vast 12,000 square mile area, Dr. Adrian Billing, chief medical officer at the hospital, said.A medical worker wearing personal protective equipment walks outside the Paris Healthcare Center in Paris, Texas, April 29, 2020. "We had to shut down our medical and dental service lines, and our behavioral health service lines, on these days that we did 500 or 600 vaccines at a time," Billing said, adding that he has not recently seen a single vaccinated patient wind up in the hospital.
"So far -- and this is our eighth week of school -- we haven't had a positive case, so we're remaining hopeful," she said.However, more than 620 miles away, in Lamar County, the story is very different. Despite the availability of vaccines, only 40% of the residents have been fully vaccinated. Although Byrd himself has not been vaccinated, due to a pre-existing health condition, he said he is taking all the necessary precautions to keep himself safe, with hand sanitizer, masks and social distancing.
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