Gavin Newsom makes Fresno appearance with comedian George Lopez, says COVID vaccines safe
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced efforts Friday during his visit in Fresno to drive up the confidence of the COVID-19 vaccines among California’s farm laborers.
Newsom made his appearance at Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries in central Fresno, saying the state is partnering with 337 nonprofit organizations statewide to get word out that the COVID vaccines are safe.
The state has a $52.7 million public-private partnership with the California Community Foundation, the Center at Sierra Health Foundation and the Public Health Institute to fund the efforts with the nonprofits, Newsom said.
The Pfizer vaccine is 95% effective, and Moderna’s is 94.1% effective. Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has an efficacy rate of 66% in protecting against mild cases of the virus, and it is 85% effective in protecting against severe disease.
Newsom appeared at the event with comedian George Lopez. “Take the shot when it’s your turn. Take any of these shots, it’s going to save your life,” Newsom said.
Newsom said the investment in the nonprofits will help combat trepidation from any farm workers or others who may not speak English and are afraid of the vaccine.
“It’s exactly what needs to be done to address the issue of misinformation and lack of trust and confidence in not only the safety but the efficacy of these vaccinations,” he said. “So that’s our approach and it’s truly culturally competent in languages bottom up, not top down.”
Farm laborers have expressed a distrust of the vaccine, and some may not be convinced to get vaccinated without the right strategies, according to experts. The consequences of that lack of confidence could be devastating to the Latino community, which has already been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Since the pandemic first reached the state, more than 1.4 million Latinos in California have been infected by COVID-19, and 20,364 have died, according to the California Department of Public Health. Latinos make up about 39% of state’s population, but account for about 55% of the state’s coronavirus cases and 46% of deaths, state data show.
In a letter sent to Newsom on Thursday, California Farmworker Foundation, the Fresno County Farm Bureau, Cultiva La Salud, the Central Valley Community Foundation and the California Fresh Fruit Association and others described vaccines for farm workers as a matter of “moral imperative and economic urgency.”
The governor was accompanied by Lopez as an effort to get the Latino community to trust the effort, officials said. Lopez said he wanted to show his support for farm workers who have continued to work through the pandemic to supply food to the country.
“These are people who don’t look for attention, which means sometimes they get lost,” he said. “They get up early every day to go to their job without fanfare. When something like this happens, they should go to the front of the line.”
Mass vaccine site
Newsom also addressed the potential for a mass vaccination site in Fresno, like those in Los Angeles and Oakland, saying state officials are still interested in it potentially being in Fresno. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency is being pulled in other directions, he said.
“California was the beneficiary of the first two federal sites,” he said. “Other states were not as pleased as we were to have not one but two large-scale sites. It’s put a lot of press on the new administration to do the same in every other state.”
Earlier in the week, Newsom announced the state will increase vaccine allocations to the Central Valley by almost 60% compared to last week, Newsom said during a visit in Kern County. An additional 34,000 doses will be made available to vaccinate food and agricultural workers.
Fresno City Councilmember Nelson Esparza, who represents the district Newsom visited, said he would be open to the city of Fresno’s own campaign to fight misinformation about the virus. He said what that would look like was not immediately clear.
He noted expert opinions that 70% or more of the population would need to be vaccinated to gain a herd immunity.
“We want folks who are next in line to take it,” he said. “Ultimately, whether you take the Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson or Moderna, all of us getting vaccinated here in Fresno is going to make a tremendous difference to allow us to fully reopen.”
Protesters and critics
A small crowd of people gathered outside the gates of the center, holding signs in support of the recall of Newsom.
As of about a week ago, elections officials have verified more than 668,000 valid signatures supporting the effort to recall Newsom, according to the Secretary of State. The recall needs about 1.5 million signatures verified by county election officials to go forward.
California Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox was also critical of Newsom on Friday. The businessman and 2018 Republican nominee who faced Newsom issued a statement.
“The biggest problem is that hundreds of thousands of seniors who wanted vaccines have had their lives hanging in the balance waiting for vaccine access,” he said. “Only thanks to political pressure from the recall he’s finally acting, but his mismanagement has been epic.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 12:33 PM.
