Newsom: 40% of state’s COVID-19 vaccines will go to most disadvantaged

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday morning that 40% of California’s COVID-19 vaccines would be set aside for the state’s most vulnerable residents.

Newsom made the announcement at the Stribley Center in Stockton, a ZIP code he described as in the lowest quartile of the state’s Healthy Places Index, which identifies communities most at risk to adverse health effects.

The Stribley Center will serves as an Optum Serve vaccination clinic to reach those in that lower quartile. Vaccinations were occurring as the governor and other state officials spoke to the media and answered questions.

The governor was joined by both state and local officials, including State Public Health Officer Mark Ghaly, San Joaquin County Public Health Officer Maggie Park and Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln.

“That’s a way we’re going to make real progress as it relates to advancing our cause,” Newsom said. “This cause I think, should unite all of us in California, that’s the cause of equity.”

Local, state and nationwide reporting have shown that low-income households and communities of color have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 when it comes to infection, hospitalization and death rates.

The goal is to have more equity in vaccine distribution to these disadvantaged groups, as they often are the least likely to have access to them, Newsom said.

“That disproportionately has fallen on the Latino community in the state of California,” Newsom said. “African American community, yes, but disproportionately even more so on the Latino community.”

Newsom said that eligibility for receiving a vaccine will still be reliant on age and other categories of the state’s tiered distribution system, but that within those groups 40% will also be allocated to those who live in these most disadvantaged communities.