Several Bay Area communities will see a major influx of vaccines after California officials pledged to direct 40 percent of the state’s vaccine supply to underserved neighborhoods.
It's an effort to quickly inoculate more at-risk people who are having a harder time getting their shots.
The doses will be spread among 400 zip codes which represent communities with the greatest need, 10 of which are in the Bay Area.
In San Francisco, the Tenderloin neighborhood and Treasure Island will benefit, as will three zip codes in Oakland, one in North Richmond and four zip codes in Solano County encompassing the communities of Montezuma, Fairfield, Vallejo and Vacaville.
Despite being home to many essential workers, San Francisco’s Mission District did not qualify, but advocates in the neighborhood are still celebrating the move.
"I think that allocating 40 percent of vaccines for these neighborhoods is a great first step," said Jon Jacobo, health committee chair of the Latino Task Force. "But ensuring that in practice they are getting into the arms of the people that need it most, that’s a whole different thing."
The Latino Task Force has partnered with UCSF to set up a pop-up vaccination site in the neighborhood, which has vaccinated 3,000 people over four weeks.
"We have a line wrapped around the corner because people trust us."
He said working with community-based organizations like his will be key if the state wants to reach these communities.
Mayor London Breed said that has been a focus in San Francisco’s vaccine strategy.
“We created a number of pop-up sites that don’t require an appointment because I know there are elderly people who don’t know how to use the internet and may not have access to a computer, but they know Maxine Hall (Health Center) in their neighborhood.”
Breed and Jacobo said messaging is also crucial, so that people know the vaccine is safe and effective and that they can get it at no cost.
"We want to make sure they know that they don’t have to have health insurance to get the vaccine, that money should never be a barrier, that immigration status shouldn’t be a barrier," said Breed.
A January survey of 6,000 people in the Mission District showed the majority are interested in getting a vaccine, an encouraging sign.
“65% of Latinos would get a COVID vaccine today or would need a little bit more information to say, ‘yes I’m here for it’,” said Jacobo. "And I think in large part that’s because 25 percent of those same respondents said they knew somebody who had died of COVID-19 or had been seriously ill.”
But he said reports from partner organizations show Latinos in other parts of the state are still reluctant.
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