Governor’s Office Agrees to Provide Funds for Vaccine Equity Efforts in the Bay Area

Negotiations with Bay Area Legislators and Governor’s Office Lead to Increased Funds for Vaccine Distribution to Integrate Hardest-Hit Communities in the Bay Area

Ongoing discussions among Bay Area Legislators and the California Governor’s Office concerning equity in the state’s vaccine distribution rollout have proved effective in providing relief to those hard-hit areas in the Bay Area that have seen higher COVID-19 infection rates.  

The Governor’s Office alerted Legislators that approximately $7,600,000 would be allocated to the nine Bay Area counties for the purposes of administering vaccines in communities that are at increased risk of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization.

Earlier this month, twenty Bay Area State Legislators, including Senator Dave Cortese, Senator Scott Wiener, Senator Josh Becker, Senator Mike McGuire, Senator Bob Wieckowski, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, Assemblymember Evan Low, Assemblymember Phil Ting, as well as hundreds of community leaders and community-based organizations, urged the state to reformulate the latest state vaccine distribution plan unveiled late in the week of March 1st.

Even though the Bay Area accounts for 20% of the population of California and includes many hard-hit communities with COVID-19 infection rates that are twice that of the state's overall rate, only 2% of Bay Area residents fell under zip codes prioritized for nearly half of the available doses of the COVID-19 vaccine through the state's new vaccine distribution formula. The formula excluded zip codes in the Bay Area that have infection rates that were nearly twice that of the state’s overall rate.  (Read further at this link).

This funding can be used for expanding vaccination sites hard-hit areas, signing residents up for the state’s vaccination appointment app, MyTurn, and the hiring of workers to conduct culturally competent and responsive outreach. Each local health jurisdiction will exclusively and swiftly deploy funding to accelerate vaccines to those most vulnerable, high-risk populations.

Funding allotted is based on population and county health departments will be receiving funds as soon as next week. Santa Clara County, Alameda County, and Contra Costa County will be receiving $1,500,000 of these funds each, San Francisco County and San Mateo County will receive $750,000 each, and Marin County, Napa County, Solano County, and Sonoma County will each receive $400,000.

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  •      Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara will receive $1.5 million each ($4.5 million total)
  •      San Francisco and San Mateo will receive $750k each ($1.5 million total)
  •      Marin, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma receive $400k each ($1.6 million total)

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The state is anticipating and preparing for an increase of vaccine doses they receive from the federal government on a weekly basis. By mid-May, the state is expecting 4,000,000 vaccine doses per week.

“These funds will go directly toward providing life-saving vaccines to our communities across the Bay Area that have been disproportionately impacted by this virus,” says Senator Cortese (D-San Jose). “And we have seen first-hand just what an impact this virus has had on our hard-hit communities that are predominately communities of color. This is a step in the right direction, but not nearly all that is needed to assist those that are suffering from a clear geographic and socioeconomic disadvantage. COVID-19 has only underscored the urgency of eliminating socioeconomic barriers and advancing health equity in our state.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has only highlighted and exacerbated our existing health and economic disparities, with people of color and underserved communities experiencing the brunt of job loss, financial hardship, housing insecurity, as well as health impacts,” said Assembly Ash Kalra (D-San Jose). “Only an equitable vaccination rollout will ensure life-saving treatment is reaching all those who need it now”

 “These funds will provide a needed boost to our outreach and vaccination efforts in our most hard-hit communities,” says Senator Josh Becker (D-Peninsula). “Addressing health disparities is essential in the fight against COVID-19, a virus that knows no boundaries.”

"Some of our most at-risk communities that have been hardest hit by COVID-19 also have the greatest confusion around vaccine eligibility and high levels of vaccine hesitancy," said Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park). "This extra money is critical to increasing outreach in a targeted and culturally competent way to these communities and closing the equity gap that exists in vaccine distribution in the Bay Area."

For a full list of Legislators, Community Based Organizations, and Community Leaders involved in this coalition, please reference this letter. 

 

For more information, contact Tara Sreekrishnan, Office of Senator Dave Cortese, at 408 480 7833 or tara.sreekrishnan@sen.ca.gov.