Newsom promotes COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots during Kings County visit
Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the Central Valley on Tuesday to promote vaccinations and California’s expansion of booster shots to all residents ages 18 and up.
Newsom visited a COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Avenal, a city in the southwest corner of Kings County. While the county has the lowest vaccination rate per capita of any county in the state, the community of Avenal is a local outlier. With about 75% of residents vaccinated, Avenal has the highest vaccination rate in Kings County.
“The county as a consequence, not surprisingly, it’s among the highest per capita hospitalization rates, they’re connected,” Newsom said. He added that Kings County health officials had told him that about 90% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the county are unvaccinated.
“Our biggest concern is really the ongoing hesitancy to get vaccinated, because it does not only impact the health of each individual who chooses not to get vaccinated but our hospital, and our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Kings County Department of Public Health interim director Darcy Pickens. “Vaccination is a choice that protects the individual and everyone around, so we continue to encourage people to get vaccinated.”
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“We have vaccine clinics available in Kings County seven days a week, on Sundays, in the evenings,” Pickens said.
Tuesday’s visit at the clinic, which was located in the parking lot of Avenal High School, is part of Newsom’s efforts to increase vaccination rates not only across the state, but also in those hardest hit communities, many in the Valley. The Valley has low vaccination rates compared to the rest of the state.
The governor’s message was clear: There is a large percentage of people that has not yet been vaccinated and as the winter season approaches, that could put stress on the health care system, which continues to be overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases.
“I don’t say that to alarm people.” Newsom said, adding that anyone who wants a booster can now get one.
People who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least six months ago are eligible for a booster, as are those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.
“California was the first state to say, ‘get a booster shot, they are in abundance.’ About 60% of people are getting their booster shots in pharmacies,” he said.
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“Today is a great day for Avenal and for all of Kings County,” said Supervisor Richard Valle of Newsom’s visit to the city, which is home to about 10,000 people, not counting the prison population.
Valle equated Newsom’s visit to Avenal “to the day Robert Kennedy stood by Cesar Chavez at 40 Acres in Delano.”
“At a time when Cesar was physically ravished from his fight for equity and justice for workers, many of us are ravished by our fight against this pandemic,” Valle said.
“This pandemic continues to go down as a sorrowful moment in our history,” Valle said, adding that there are many unknown men and women in Kings County working to make a difference to fight the coronavirus.
Valle told Newsom that the “day you sent the vaccines to us you sent us a ripple of hope. A ripple of hope that let us know you were and are with us here in rural communities in the fight to survive.”
Newsom praised the leadership of Avenal elected officials, from the school district to city hall, for their resiliency and resolve.
“I’m also incredibly grateful to the leadership of each and every one of you. You are defying the odds,” Newsom said of Avenal. “You’re stepping up and stepping in in this pandemic. You’re following science. You’re keeping people healthy. You’re keeping people safe. You’re keeping people in school because you’re following the science.”
“Your presence gives us a ripple of hope for the future of Avenal and all of Kings County,” Valle said.
Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 16 de noviembre de 2021, 5:05 p. m..
