Rally Against Vaccine Mandate Back in Santa Barbara

March to De la Guerra Plaza Protests for 'Medical Freedom'

About 75 protesters marched up State Street and under the overpass, filling the blocks with their chants for freedom of choice on Saturday. | Credit: Caleb Rodriguez

After another deadly wave of the COVID-19 pandemic struck the globe, another wave of anti-vaccine and anti-vaccine-mandate protests arrived in Santa Barbara.

Echoing a similar protest in July, Saturday’s “Worldwide Rally for Freedom” comprised 75 people marching from Stearns Wharf to De la Guerra Plaza where more than 200 people convened for a Freedom Festival hosting several speakers and a live band. Similar demonstrations took place around the world to resist vaccine mandates enacted by businesses and governments. Since the beginning of a summer surge two months ago, global COVID-19 cases have tapered off, but an average of 540,000 new cases and almost 9,000 deaths per day continues to test the limits of health-care systems worldwide.

The event was organized by Stand Up Santa Barbara, a local collective that organizes resistance to vaccine mandates and lockdowns.