The California region where Covid ‘just isn’t slowing down’

The state has the country's lowest case rate. But in the vaccine-resistant Central Valley and rural north, healthcare workers are pushed to the limit

California has the lowest coronavirus case rate in the country. But within the state, the agricultural Central Valley and rural north remain overwhelmed.

Resistance to vaccines and public health mandates, combined with the advance of the Delta variant, have triggered an explosion of cases that are pushing already strained public health systems to the brink. In some counties, the case rate per 100,000 people is three or more times that of the state.