County Supervisors request more vaccines
State official may have mixed up Monterey County with Central Valley in reply to earlier request.
SALINAS >> Clarifying that Monterey County is not in the Central Valley and reiterating a request for a more “equitable” local supply of COVID-19 vaccine, the Board of Supervisors was poised to send a response letter to the top state health official Monday.
Noting that county supervisors had on Jan. 28 asked Gov. Gavin Newsom for “immediate assistance on several critical issues related to the equitable supply and distribution” of vaccine, the letter thanks state Public Health Officer Dr. Tomas Aragon for his efforts to support “communities whose makeup may look like ours.” But it also pointed out that Aragon’s reply letter sent nearly a month later in later February apparently confused Monterey County with the Central Valley.
“Due to the large geographical barriers between our communities and the Central Valley communities referenced in your response letter we would request your insights on how (the state Public Health Department) plans to focus on and address the needs of Monterey County — specifically the Salinas Valley and the Central Coast,” the county board’s letter reads, underlining and highlighting the local areas. “Your letter focused on other regions of California in response to Monterey County’s concerns and caused great consternation amongst our residents who remain concerned that they are still unseen and unheard by your department.”
County supervisors agreed during a special meeting on Friday to send the response letter, which was authored by staff and signed by county board chairwoman Wendy Root Askew Monday, according to County Counsel Les Girard.
In the 57-page letter, including attachments, the county board reiterates its request for a “special allocation” of vaccine for local agrciultural workers. It argued that county officials along with their hospital and health partners, and local ag, hospitality and education industry all agree that “valued farmworkers” most at-risk for exposure to the virus must be vaccinated “for the wellbeing of the entire community.”
It notes that a “large influx of seasonal farmworkers” is expected to arrive in the Salinas Valley starting this month, including an estimated 35,000 season workers who travel from the Imperial Valley and Yuma, Arizona to work in the county before many move on to the Central Valley. The letter points out that those workers are not counted in the county’s population so there is no vaccine allocation for them and the county still also doesn’t have enougn vaccine for the estimated 30,000 farmworkers who live locally year-round.
The letter again points out county officials’ past attempts to acquire more vaccine for the local ag workforce including requests to Newsom, local state and federal elected officials, state and federal agencies, CVS pharmacies, and area multi-county entities such as Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, and Dignity Health, “knowing full well that not doing so severely impacts every sector of our economy, especially our communities of color.”
It also notes the county’s efforts on behalf of the agricultural workforce with local programs that the letter argues have become a model for the state’s Housing for the Harvest program and others. It also notes its pilot Community Health Worker program aimed at the county’s poorest, hardest hit areas where many farmworkers and other low-wage workers live.
Finally, the letter notes the county is still waiting for a response from the state regarding questions about vaccine “equity” and data transparency. It said county officials are “extremely concerned” that the county has been “shortchanged” and requests an additional allotment if that proves accurate.
The letter is also being sent to Newsom, the county’s state legislative representatives, Congressman Jimmy Panetta, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, the California State Association of Counties and the Rural Counties Representative of California.