Vaccine equity for Latinos + Church as an essential service + API caucus on hate crimes
Good morning and welcome as always to the A.M. Alert!
GET THE VACCINE TO CALIFORNIA LATINOS
Over 50 Latino leaders in California sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom urging the state to expand vaccine access to Latino communities who have been hard hit by the pandemic.
“Your Administration must take concrete steps to prioritize the state’s plurality population in vaccine distribution to immediately correct the unequal rollout that is leaving too many frontline communities behind,” according to the Feb. 11 letter.
So far, more than 5.5 million vaccines have been administered, state data shows, but advocates fear that people of color are not receiving vaccines at the same rate as white Californians.
As of February, Latinos in California account for more than half (55%) of the state’s confirmed COVID-19 cases, despite representing nearly 40% of the state population.
Data newly released by the Department of Public Health show Latinos are underrepresented among Californians who’ve received a vaccine. They account for 16% of the Californians who’ve had at least one shot.
Some of the recommendations outlined in the letter include creating a public database to show where vaccines are being administered, collaborating with community clinics that serve Latino communities and providing onsite, workplace vaccinations to farmworkers and other essential workers.
The letter was signed by representatives from varying groups like the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Initiative, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and AltaMed Health Services.
Earlier this month, the Latino Community Foundation launched a statewide campaign to increase access to culturally competent information surrounding the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines. Their efforts also include boosting investments in grass-root organizations.
The effort is in partnership with groups based in the Central Valley, Central Coast and the Inland Empire, where many farmworkers reside.
“We must invest in trusted community leaders on the ground and ensure our communities have the resources they need to increase vaccination rate,” said Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO of Latino Community Foundation, in a statement.
RALLY AGAINST API HATE CRIMES
Be on the lookout this week for legislation condemning a rise in reported hate crimes against the Asian Pacific Islander community.
This comes after a press conference Friday held by members of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, chaired by Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, and vice-chaired by Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell.
“There’s been a surge of hate in recent weeks and we are here to say enough is enough,” Pan said in prepared remarks.
Between March 19 and Dec. 31 of 2020, there were more than 2,800 incidents of anti-Asian discrimination, according to reporting from USA Today, which cited figures from the website Stop AAPI Hate.
“We are angry. We are hurt. And we want to be seen,” Low said in prepared remarks.
Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, said much of the hate directed against the API community was fomented by former President Donald Trump, who used terms to describe COVID-19 that are derogatory toward Asian people.
Chiu said that he is re-introducing a bill that that would require the California Department of Justice to establish a toll-free hotline for reporting hate crimes.
“Thoughts and prayers are not enough, we need to take action,” he said.
In addition, Low said that resolutions condemning anti-Asian hate crimes will be forthcoming this week.
LAWMAKER INTRODUCES ‘RELIGION IS ESSENTIAL’ ACT
Santee Republican Sen. Brian Jones has introduced a bill that would require Gov. Gavin Newsom to treat religion as an essential service, akin to retail, during any declared state of emergency.
SB 397, dubbed the “Religion is Essential Act,” would prohibit state and local governments from discriminating against a religious organization during an emergency or from enforcing health, safety or occupancy requirements that impose “a substantial burden” on a religious service. State and local governments also would be required to permit religious services to continue operating during an emergency, and religious organizations would be empowered to file a claim for relief in an administrative or judicial proceeding if subjected to “state or local government overreach.”
“Americans are guaranteed religious freedom and the right to congregate with fellow members at their chosen house of worship,” Jones said in a statement. “For 11 months, California Governor Newsom used the excuse of COVID to violate those rights and his fellow Democrat legislators sheepishly sat on their hands and allowed it to happen. Mercifully, the United States Supreme Court recently stepped in and returned our religious rights, but the threat from Newsom and others to undermine those rights again is still looming.”
The bill is co-sponsored by the California Family Council, California Resource Institute, Judeo-Christian Caucus and Real Impact.
Such a bill would have to survive not only the Democrat-controlled Senate and Assembly, but also Gov. Newsom’s veto pen before it becomes law.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I don’t know how Kamala Harris doesn’t get impeached if the Republicans take over the House.”
- Sen. Lindsey Graham on Fox News Sunday.
Best of the Bee:
- Kings tickets and a cruise: How California’s AIDS office misspent millions, via Wes Venteicher
California will pay up to $15M to distribute vaccines under new contract with Blue Shield, via Sophia Bollag
Opinion: Gov. Gavin Newsom polishes image as California recall drive escalates, via Dan Walters of Cal Matters