Print California is sending 40% of vaccine supplies to communities hit hardest by COVID-19, hoping to improve equity, halt the spread of the disease and hasten reopening. Will it work? TOP STORIES Months into a vaccine rollout that has been stymied by shortages and marred by persistent inequities, California is now going all in on a new strategy: flooding those communities hardest hit by COVID-19 with doses. Officials say they hope the radical shift unveiled this week will not only slow the spread of the disease and tackle glaring inequities in who is receiving vaccines, but also speed up reopening of the economy by inoculating essential workers who are putting themselves at greater risk.