To address initial shortcomings, Newsom, who is facing a recall effort, and the Biden administration announced a pilot program to create community vaccination sites in Oakland and Los Angeles. The initial sites, part of a larger effort to open 100 sites in President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office, are aimed at getting the vaccinations to underserved communities.
“This is an equity-driven, community-based partnership,” Newsom told “NBC Nightly News.” “You’ve got to go where people are.”
One center will be in the Oakland Coliseum, where the Oakland Athletics baseball team plays, and the other will be at California State University, Los Angeles. Both will be adjacent to communities hit hard by the pandemic.
The announcement follows a major shift — it was revealed last week that California is creating a centralized vaccine distribution system led by the insurance giant Blue Shield.
The shift favors the use of technology in the war against Covid-19, but it poses potential problems for communities that don’t have access to the internet, smartphones, or computers.
“It’s very disheartening to see the level of disparities when it comes to the rollout,” Salceda of Fresno said. “The state has to do better ensuring that our communities have access to the vaccine, information about getting the vaccine, and a number of alternative ways to get the vaccine.”
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