Middlesex County (MA), population of 1.612 million as of 2019, contains a vaccination rate of 76.2% of the population having received at least 1 dose and 69% fully vaccinated, the largest vaccination rate in the state of Massachusetts. The county is one of the lower-risk counties in MA along with Suffolk and Norfolk, Hampden being the highest risk county with a positive test rate of 4.6%.

Vaccination has been a controversial topic in the United States ever since the development of the Covid vaccines. NEWS10’s article, “Why are people hesitant to get the COVID vaccine?”, explains the hesitancy of Massachussettes residence towards getting vaccinated for Covid-19. They state that “Compared to the U.S. average, 56% are concerned about side effects, 28% don’t believe they need a vaccine, 37% plan to wait and see if it’s safe, 44% don’t trust the vaccine, 38% don’t trust the government and 21% don’t think COVID is a big threat.”

Although vaccination is highly encouraged by the CDC due to its ability to fight the virus, the vaccine is not as effective in decreasing transmission from person to person in cases of new variants, more specifically the Delta variant. According to the CDC “, the Delta variant is highly contagious, more than 2x as contagious as previous variants.” CDC also states that “the greatest risk of transmission is among unvaccinated people who are much more likely to get infected and therefore transmit the virus.”

Despite the fact that the percentage of Vaccinated individuals in Middlesex county is slightly higher than Suffolk county’s, Suffolk with a vaccination rate of 72%, its positive test rates (1.4%) is slightly higher than Suffolk’s rates (1.3%). Along with positive test rates, Middlesex’s daily death rates are slightly higher than Suffolk’s and Norfolks as well, Middlesex with a death rate of 2.3 per day, Suffolk’s of 1.3 per day, and Norfolk’s of 1.0 per day. Middlesex’s death rate increased by about 1.3 deaths per day since the beginning of September.

Despite the hesitancy towards the vaccine, many others hope that it could help reduce the Coronavirus epidemic in the state and Country. Besides the small uptick in infections, vaccination in Middlesex county seems to be improving conditions, stores are opening up more, mask are no longer a necessity in certain establishments. The county’s large vaccination rate seems to come with a positive consequence and will hopefully continue this way. Vaccination sites are available at neighborhood CVS’s and Urgent Care facilities.