SLAB CITY, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom is on a mission to get most of California vaccinated by June 15, but for those living off the grid in a free-wheeling desert city about 200 miles southeast of Los Angeles, it may be tough to incentivize them into getting the vaccine.
Slab City is known as the last free place in America for its off-the-grid living.
It was a YouTube video that enticed 75-year-old Peter Campbell to retire, sell his printing business and home in Downey, then move to Slab City, a self-governed community of reclusive campers in the Sonoran Desert.
Campbell is a full-time slabber living in an RV powered only by solar for four years.
"I was a businessman most of my life and got acquainted with people I never rubbed shoulders with," he said.
It was an eye-opening experience for him, Campbell said.
For independent-minded creatives like Campbell, living off the grid worked in their favor during the pandemic.
He said hundreds of people currently live in Slab City. Some are seasonal residents, and others live there year-round.
But he doesn't know anyone who's gotten sick with COVID-19, so he's not getting vaccinated.
"Most of the people I know out here choose not to be vaccinated," Campbell said. "It's a rebellious crowd."
He believes if it gets inconvenient enough, people will feel forced to get vaccinated, he said.
Because there are no actual street addresses, the Imperial County Health Department has no way to track positive cases or those vaccinated in Slab City.
On the other side of the slabs is a place known as East Jesus, a junkyard turned open-air museum where artists can live and contribute to the art.
Masks are required there. Luna and Chu Chu DeLamar are artists who tour the country working at festivals and events.
They've spent months at a time in East Jesus, working on art projects, since everything is canceled.
"Our mission is to be here so that people can experience art and get inspired by all this cool stuff. So it really sucks to have to shut down for a while and not let people in," Luna said, adding they've followed CDC guidelines for social distancing and mask-wearing.
Chu Chu said he decided to get vaccinated in April before coming back to the slabs from Oregon.
"When COVID came, I thought, I know I've put worse things in my body," he said.
Luna isn't against the vaccine either. For now, she feels safe living in a remote environment but eventually plans to get the shot.
"Sooner or later, I have to leave here and go back into the real world," she said. "I'll have to get work, and I'm going to need to have [the vaccine]."