State to give funds for ‘equitable’ vaccine rollout

Money may be used to expand Bay Area vaccination sites and hire outreach workers

Amid ongoing local frustrations over the state’s approach to an equitable vaccine rollout, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has pledged several million dollars to Bay Area health departments to help distribute doses in hardhit areas.

The state will give $7.6 million to nine Bay Area counties to expand vaccination sites in vulnerable neighborhoods, sign residents up for appointments through My Turn or hire outreach workers, among other possibilities, State Sen. Dave Cortese’s office said Wednesday.

“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,” Cortese said in a statement. “COVID-19 has only underscored the urgency of eliminating socioeconomic barriers and advancing health equity in our state.”

In early March, the state announced a new vaccine plan that would set aside 40% of its available doses for 400 priority ZIP codes — and allow reopening restrictions to loosen once 2 million doses were delivered in those areas. The state based the list on a health equity metric known as the California Healthy Places Index, which ranks census tracts based on income, education levels, health care access and other factors.

Yet many communities that expected to be included — where people have contracted and died from COVID-19 at high rates — were left out. In all, just 10 Bay Area ZIP codes made the list, with not a single one located in Santa Clara, San Mateo or

Marin counties.

“It’s criminal,” said Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith at the time. “It means people in our county at greatest risk of the pandemic will be getting less vaccines than people in counties that have done a worse job with dealing with poverty and health risk issues for years.”

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly defended the decision, telling reporters that week that the

state was “working to ensure that all counties with the supply of vaccines they receive target the ZIP codes that are hardest-hit within their county.”

Still, state representatives such as Cortese — plus many community organizations — penned a letter in mid-March urging the state to reconsider and noting that the use of ZIP codes was “clearly not an equitable approach and one that is completely disadvantaging the Bay Area.”

Wednesday’s announcement appears to be the culmination of those discussions. Local Santa Clara County leaders did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday as to how they plan to use their share of the funds; Supervisor Cindy Chavez said she’d like to see more vaccination locations in hard-hit neighborhoods, along with paid rides to and from clinics for residents.

“We’ve pulled out a lot of stops. The question really is what stops did we forget?” Chavez said.

Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties each will receive $1.5 million; San Francisco and San Mateo will receive $750,000, and Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties each will receive $400,000, Cortese’s office said.