Bay Area residents make up just 2% of the roughly 10 million people living in postcodes added to receive additional coronavirus vaccines under a new state plan announced this week, although the nine-province region accounts for 20% of constitute the population of the state. to a Chronicle overview of data.
The new strategy will begin allocating 40% of the state’s vaccine supply to 446 of the lowest-income zip codes in California next week. It seeks to make the distribution of vaccines fairer at all levels of income.
According to Gavin Newsom’s office, the infection rate for households earning less than $ 40,000 a year is twice as high as for households with an income of $ 120,000 or more. Meanwhile, the richest people in California are being vaccinated nearly twice as the most vulnerable residents of the state.
Officials said the plan does not mean that other zip codes will receive fewer vaccinations than they previously received, but could lead to the areas receiving a smaller increase than they would otherwise do.
The population of 10 million differs from the eight million people who, according to the state, will benefit from the plan because The Chronicle looked at the entire population in each zip code, while the California Department of Public Health included only people 16 years and older has, because this is what is currently eligible for vaccines.
Most Bay Area provinces – Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Sonoma and Napa – have no zip codes included in the state’s vaccination allowance, although it is home to low-income neighborhoods that have been excessively affected by the pandemic. .
The reason why the Bay Area is largely bypassed by Newsom’s plan is partly due to the fact that most zip codes are the lowest in the state’s Healthy Places Index – which compiles dozens of economic and social measures in a single count – in the countryside. areas, and Central and Southern California. The state uses the index to determine which areas they need the most vaccinations.
For example, more than 90% of Merced County residents live in zip codes targeted by the state proposal because of their low score on the Healthy Places Index. Half of San Bernardino County residents are prioritized in zip codes for vaccination.
Meanwhile, only 4% of San Francisco residents, 3% of Contra Costa County residents and 7% of Alameda County residents are in the relevant zip codes, The Chronicle’s review of public health, census and the Department of Finance.
The state’s formula for determining the 446 zip codes leaves out many low-income areas of the Bay Area, including southeastern San Francisco, western Oakland and eastern San Jose. Local health departments, community clinics and advocacy groups have been working for months to target residents in these areas for vaccinations, as it is one of the groups hardest hit where the virus is most prevalent.
“It’s a disappointment,” said Jessica Paz-Cedillos, executive director of the School of Arts and Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Her organization is one of five agencies in the Sí Se Puede Collective, which strives to prioritize East San Jose in its policy of pandemic responses.
“Here in East San Jose, where the Sí’s Puede Collective is doing the work, this is an area that has been hit hard,” she said. “The communities affected are mainly Latino, working class, immigrants.”
Some health care providers who vaccinate residents in the poorest and most severely affected communities in the Bay Area have said they do not know if the policy change will mean more vaccines.
“We have not heard anything yet, but I hope it will enable us to do more vaccinations,” said Dr. Michael Stacey, chief medical officer of LifeLong Medical Care, which operates several vaccination sites in Oakland, San Pablo and Richmond, said. LifeLong had to reduce the number of appointments at its vaccination clinics in San Pablo and Richmond because they did not get enough vaccine.
In his remarks on Friday, Mark Ghaly, Secretary of Health and Human Services, said: “We are, of course, working to ensure that all provinces, with the supply of vaccine they receive, target those hardest hit in their provinces. “
Joaquin Palomino and Catherine Ho are writers of San Francisco Chronicle staff. Email: [email protected], [email protected] Twitter: @JoaquinPalomino, @ Kat_Ho