As of December, 44% of Guadalupe residents had at least one dose of vaccine, and 38% were fully vaccinated, according to county data. That compares with about 60% of all Maricopa County residents with at least one shot, and about 53% who are fully vaccinated.
Vital has a goal: “I want to hit at least 80%.”
Angelina Matos of Phoenix, who has family in Guadalupe, got vaccinated recently at one of the town’s events – after contracting COVID-19 at a birthday party.
“I think it was 18 of us that got infected at the same time,” Matos said. “It was just a simple dinner, you know. … ‘Come over to eat pizza, and we’ll sing Happy Birthday,’” she said. “It (the disease) was crazy, it was difficult, but thankfully no major illnesses.”
Although Matos sees more people taking COVID-19 seriously than they did a year ago, “there are still people who don’t want the vaccine.”
“I have a granddaughter who is sick, whose immune system attacks her healthy organs,” Matos said. “But her father doesn’t believe in the vaccine and has said, ‘No we’re not getting it.’”
Vital said those people who are opposed to the vaccinations must reconsider, for their own health – and that of their family and community.
“Granted, everybody has their own personal beliefs,” he said. “But it’s not just about me. It’s not just about you. It’s not just about the kids. It’s about everybody. We need to do our parts in order to make sure that we’re a town that sustains itself.”