Mobile Clinics Bolster State’s Equitable Vaccination Efforts
SACRAMENTO – Today, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released demographic data on the populations being served at the state/federal community vaccine clinics in Oakland and Los Angeles.
As of March 22, Cal OES and FEMA have a given a total of nearly 445,000 vaccines across both sites, with more than 51,000 of those vaccines administered at targeted mobile clinics within the community. Of these vaccines, nearly 67 percent were administered to targeted underserved communities and people of color.
Both locations chosen for these efforts are in some of the most diverse and socioeconomically challenged communities in the country. The goal of establishing these joint federal pilot sites in this manner was to expand the rate of vaccinations in California in an efficient, effective and equitable manner, with an explicit focus on making sure that communities that have been hit hardest by COVID-19 are not left behind.
The data released today bears out that this strategy is working and that the vaccines administered at these sites are going to the communities where they are needed most.
Total combined vaccinations given as of Monday are 442,082 (fixed and mobile sites). The community vaccine clinics in Oakland and Los Angeles have drive through, walk up and mobile vaccine options. Of the 442,082 Californians vaccinated, 24,500 identified as Black/African American, 97,259 as Asian, and 137,954 as Latino.
From one week to the next, 1.7 percent more vaccines were administered in Los Angeles to those identifying as Black/African American and 2.43 percent more to those identifying as Latino. In Oakland, 2.23 percent and 1.06 percent more vaccines were administered to those identified as Black/African American and Latino, respectively.
Vaccines Administered by Community – Totals from LA and Oakland Clinics:
Community Vaccine Clinic Los Angeles – vaccines administered:
Community Vaccine Clinic Oakland – vaccines administered:
Mobile Clinics Providing Direct Aid Communities
Of particular note in the data is the success of four mobile vaccination clinics – two paired with each vaccination site – which have been deployed to multiple locations within the community to amplify and provide distribution to areas that otherwise lack sufficient support for vaccinations.
These mobile vaccination clinics have been a great success to date and are serving a particularly high percentage of Latino and African American/Black populations. Of those served at mobile clinics in Oakland, over 28 percent identified as Latino, about 23 percent as Black/African American and nearly 20 percent as Asian. In Los Angeles, nearly 54 percent of those vaccinated at mobile sites identified as Latino, over 18 percent are Black/African American and nearly 5 percent as Asian.
The mobile vaccine units in Oakland made good progress in vaccinating 1.54 percent and 2.74 percent more Californians identifying as Asian and Black/African American than last week, respectively.
Mobile Vaccine Clinic Los Angeles – vaccines administered:
Mobile Vaccine Clinic Oakland – vaccines administered:
Find out When its “Your Turn to get Vaccinated
Registration for vaccine appointments at these two sites is available to eligible individuals through visiting the state’s My Turn website or by calling 833-422-4255.
Members of the public may check their eligibility for vaccination, sign up for notifications and schedule appointments in select areas through https://myturn.ca.gov/.
The mobile clinics are just one part of the state’s equitable vaccine effort. Other parts of the plan include:
- Allocating 40 percent of the state’s vaccines to the lowest 25 percent of ZIP codes based on the Public Health Alliance of Southern CA’s Healthy Places Index, and reserving appointments for priority populations through My Turn
- Creating a Statewide Vaccine Network with a Third Party Administrator (TPA) to include appropriate access in disproportionately impacted communities and supplements this access with evening/extended hours, transportation services, translation services, home-bound services, mobile vaccine services, and physical accessibility features at vaccination events, for example.
- Leveraging the work Community Based Organizations (CBOs) have been doing to provide critical services and information to Californians during the pandemic, the state has partnered with philanthropic organizations to support the work of 337 CBOs with $52.7 million in grants.
- Using data analytics to accurately allocate vaccines, My Turn will be the lynchpin of the state’s efforts to understand the demographics of vaccine recipients. The TPA will perform real-time data analytics to understand how the doses administered in certain zip codes compare to the age and sector prioritization framework that will be reviewed by health equity experts to adjust and intensify targeted efforts and resource allocations.
- The state will provide consistent messaging through a $30 million public education campaign, create in-language content with cultural humility, and meet Californians where they are in order to reach California’s diverse populations.
ADA compliant document here.
*Source: MyTurn.ca.gov