Donât call Orcas Islanders vaccine hesitant. More like, vaccine procrastinators
There are no public opinion polls that show how many people on Orcas Island plan to get a Covid-19 vaccine when they finally get the chance.
But the public schools on Orcas have exceptionally low vaccine compliance rates. Ninety-three percent of 6th grade students were out of compliance during the 2018-2019 school year, which means as far as the school knows, very few kids were fully vaccinated.
The low compliance rates are a concern for Ellen Wilcox who heads the Covid-19 vaccine rollout for San Juan Countyâs health department. But she doesnât think people here are as resistant to vaccines as the school data suggests.