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Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe and Walnut Creek Mayor Kevin Wilk held a joint press conference Tuesday to formally urge all Bay Area mayors to require vaccinations for city employees.
"There are serious numbers we're looking at now throughout the county. Since the start of the pandemic, 98% of COVID deaths are due to people being unvaccinated. 1.7% of the deaths in Contra Costa County are people that have been vaccinated," said Wilk.
He said these numbers can not be ignored.
The mayor said residents between the ages of 19 and 30 are the no. 1 infected group in the city at this time.
WATCH: Antioch, Walnut Creek mayors announce vaccine mandate, call on other cities to follow
East Bay mayors urge other Bay Area cities to implement vaccine mandate for city workers
Residents ages 31 to 40 and children ages 5 to 12 are the second and third most infected groups in Walnut Creek, respectively, Wilk said.
As of Monday, all city employees, volunteers and contractors in Walnut Creek must be vaccinated.
Since the announcement last week, the city has seen a 5% uptick in vaccinations among employees, according to the mayor.
RELATED: How much of California is vaccinated against COVID-19? See percentages in every county
The city of Antioch is following suit with a similar mandate that requires vaccinations for city employees or weekly COVID-19 testing.
Mayor Thorpe said Antioch is the "epicenter" in Contra Costa County as far as COVID-19.
"We can do better," he said.
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In addition to Antioch and Walnut Creek, other cities that already have vaccine mandates include Berkeley, San Francisco and San Jose.
The mayors of Antioch and Walnut Creek are now encouraging other Bay Area cities without vaccine requirements for government workers to follow their lead with a similar mandate.
VACCINE TRACKER: How California is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine
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