20 Lawmakers Sign Letter Claiming State’s Vaccine Plan Ignores Vulnerable Communities In Bay Area

In a letter to the Newsom administration, a group of 20 Bay Area lawmakers called for changes to the state’s vaccine distribution plan, claiming it leaves out vulnerable Californians in their districts. 

In early March, the state announced it would direct more vaccines to underserved ZIP codes that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. The lawmakers say they support prioritizing underserved groups, but argue the state’s plan ignores smaller pockets of vulnerable people that live in the same communities as more well-off residents. 

“We are experiencing tremendous inequality,” said Assemblyman David Chiu of San Francisco. “Wealthy communities are in the same zip code as incredibly vulnerable communities, and this vaccination distribution formula that bases it on zip codes doesn't account for that reality.”

The Bay Area lawmakers planned a press conference earlier in the week to announce their concerns, but canceled it last minute when the Newsom administration indicated it was open to discussing. Two sources who work in the Capitol confirmed that lawmakers met with administration officials Thursday, but were dissatisfied with the outcome.

The administration says it stands by the distribution plan. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday in an interview with KQED that his administration stands by the plan “because it’s the right thing to do.”

“We have a moral obligation, and I would also argue an obligation as it relates to our economic recovery,” Newsom said, “to address those who have been disproportionately impacted that we also disproportionately rely on as essential workers in terms of the vaccination protocols.”

Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s Health and Human Services secretary, reinforced this during a press call Friday.

“Forty percent of the disease — and what I mean by that is hospitalizations and deaths — have been shouldered by the communities” being prioritized, Ghaly said.

He said he’s hopeful that an increase in vaccine supply from the federal government will ameliorate concerns among counties that are not seeing additional doses under the state’s equity plan.

The Federal Drug Administration recently approved emergency authorization for the one-shot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. President Joe Biden said the federal government is expected to buy 100 million of those doses.

“As more supplies avail themselves, and that’s happening very, very soon, we’re going to move out of this dialectic — this stress — and we’ll be in an abundance frame,” Newsom said. “And that’s coming, as you heard from the president last night, sooner than most people think.”

Still, California lawmakers remain concerned.

The Bay Area represents 20% of the state’s population, according to the letter, but only 2% will see increased doses under the state’s distribution plan.

“While we applaud and support the intent to expand equitable access to the vaccine,” the letter states, “the newly announced vaccine equity metric leaves behind many underserved communities and vulnerable individuals in the Bay Area.

In early March, the Newsom administration announced it would change its vaccine distribution plan to prioritize low-income communities with limited access to the health care system. The state plans to send 40% of vaccine doses to about 450 of the state’s most vulnerable ZIP codes. 

The state’s new vaccine distribution plan hit its goal of administering 2 million doses in the state’s hardest hit ZIP codes, which relaxes criteria for all counties to move into less-restrictive tiers. 

Thirteen counties will be allowed to loosen reopening restrictions by Sunday, and another 13 counties are expected to be eligible by Tuesday.