Marin Becomes State’s Only County To Move To CDC's Yellow Tier

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The state’s most vaccinated countyon Tuesday became the state’s only county to advance to the CDC’s yellow tier for moderate transmission.

And that’s no coincidence, according to Marin’s top health official.

“We’re the only county in California right now to be in (the moderate transmission tier) and we’re also the most highly vaccinated county, and those two things are connected,” Marin Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis told Patch.

“It’s because of those vaccination rates that we’re into that moderate transmission tier.”

Unlike the tiered system used in California’s since-retired Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the CDC’s color-tiered classifications don’t automatically trigger the lifting of restrictions.

But the CDC classification does bring Marin closer to lifting its indoor mask mandate.

Remaining in the yellow tier for three weeks is among three criteria health officials representing eight Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley announced last week need to be met before indoor mask requirements can be lifted.

A low rate of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and a vaccination rate of the county’s entire population above 80 percent are the other criteria.

As of Wednesday, 92.3 percent of eligible Marin residents 12 years of age and older have completed their vaccine series and 98.0 percent of county residents have received at least one jab, according to the county's vaccination dashboard.

Marin tops the state with 77.4 percent of all residents (including those under 12) fully vaccinated, and the North Bay county ranks tenth in the nation among all counties (regardless of population), The New York Times reports.

Marin was the nation's most vaccinated county among those with a population over 250,000, according to data compiled earlier this year by The San Francisco Chronicle.