Governor Gavin Newsom announced important changes to vaccine
prioritization and California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
The state will now earmark 40 percent of its COVID-19 vaccine
doses for low-income communities spread out across 400
of the state’s Zip Codes, or the lower quartile of the
state’s Healthy
Places Index.
Once 2 million of the roughly 8 million eligible residents in
those communities are vaccinated, which is expected to occur
within the next two weeks, the state will adjust the coronavirus
case rate needed for counties to move from the most restrictive
purple tier to the red tier. Instead of 7 cases per 100,000, it
will be raised to 10 cases per 100,000 — easing the way for
restaurants, gyms, museums, movie theaters, and other businesses
to reopen indoors at limited capacity. Once 4 million residents
are vaccinated in those low-income communities, the state will
adjust the threshold to enter the orange and yellow tiers but has
not yet shared those metrics.
Counties applaud the new vaccine strategy as it aligns with
ongoing and longstanding county equity efforts. African American
and Latino Californians have been the hardest hit throughout the
pandemic, with the highest levels of COVID-19 hospitalizations
and deaths. They’ve also been vaccinated at lower rates.
Vaccine shortages continue to confound overall equity and
eligibility efforts at all levels. This week, vaccine progress
will be impeded by the severe shortage of vaccines and the need
to redirect first doses to complete mid-stream two-dose
vaccinations.
Updating the Blueprint for a Safer Economy in light of this
targeted vaccine deployment and strong county-led efforts to
administer more than two million vaccines a week provides a light
at the end of the tunnel and a beginning pathway out of the
pandemic for all Californians. Counties thank Governor Newsom for
his ongoing advocacy to maximize the doses flowing into
California.
These vaccination efforts, along with continued vigilance like
mask-wearing and testing will help get kids back into schools and
supercharge the economic engines needed for fiscal recovery.
