California plans to tackle vaccine inequity. Will it work?
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1of9Robert Brisco, 68, says he’ll wait longer before he gets a Covid-19 vaccine while standing a his home near the RingCentral Coliseum on Thursday, March 4, 2021 in Oakland, Calif. The state recently announced that it s now prioritizing certain zip codes for the vaccine.Paul Kuroda / Special to The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
2of9A boy on a bike does a wheelie at an housing complex near the RingCentral Coliseum on Thursday, March 4, 2021 in Oakland, Calif. The state recently announced that it s now prioritizing certain zip codes for the vaccine.Paul Kuroda / Special to The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
Ken Towns receives a first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from UC Davis Health on Jan. 12, 2021, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, Pool)
(CN) California health officials told an advisory panel of experts Wednesday the state is wrestling with a low supply of Covid-19 vaccines and doesn’t expect the quantity of weekly deliveries from the federal government to increase for another month.
With the Golden State racing to put Covid-19 vaccines in people’s arms, officials have expanded eligibility for vaccinations and announced last week that people 65 and older can receive immunizations.
Across California, 1.5 million vaccine doses have been administered.
‘Not ready’: These Californians hesitant to take COVID vaccine, despite surge [The Sacramento Bee]
Jan. 11 Mina Perez, of Sacramento, could be among the millions of Californians to receive a vaccine this year to protect against a virus that has infected more than 2.4 million people in the state.
But don’t expect her to roll up her sleeve anytime soon.
“I’m just kind of hesitant,” Perez, 64, said. “I just don’t think there’s been enough time to analyze (the vaccine) and to find out the effects of it.”
Her worries point to Gov. Gavin Newsom administration’s particular challenge in persuading Latino Californians, including health care workers, to take the coronavirus vaccine, a step that is critical to ending the pandemic and restoring normal life to the state.
After receiving her first dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine Friday at a Los Angeles park, healthcare worker Ana Giron said the vaccine rollout finally relieved some of the stress and anxiety she’s carried since the start of the pandemic.
Giron, who works at a dental clinic in Pasadena, waited 20 minutes for the first of two required doses, but she’s waited months to take this step toward immunization for a virus that has killed nearly 360,000 Americans to date.
“I’m at least a little bit hopeful that this will help us,” Giron said in an interview with Courthouse News. “I have underlying health conditions, too, including diabetes, so I’m feeling good about it. This has been a very stressful time.”
COVID-19 hit Latinos hard Now officials must build trust about the vaccine in the community heraldmailmedia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heraldmailmedia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.