Dr. Jerry Abraham is committed to ensuring that the most vulnerable communities in California have access to the Covid-19 vaccine.
Abraham has spent the past few months calling on state officials to request doses of vaccine for black and brown people in southern Los Angeles, developing vaccination sites that have received patients who have entered the household, hosting mass vaccination events with animators and conducting mobile vaccination fleets in neighborhoods where residents have no transportation.
Abraham, the director of vaccines at Kedren Community Health Center, said he now vaccinates 5,000 people a day and fills a void in a community that might otherwise be neglected.
“We broke down every barrier between people and their vaccines,” Abraham told CNN. “Without an appointment, it’s okay. There’s no internet or email, phone or transportation, I can’t walk, speak or see, I can’t speak English, no documents, no shelter – none of this was a barrier.” .
California remains one of the states with the worst vaccination disparities in its Latino population, despite efforts like Abraham and a statewide mandate to allocate 40 percent of vaccine doses to disadvantaged communities.
According to state data, 20% of vaccine doses were given to Latin Americans, who represent 39% of the population and 56% of cases.
And 3% of the vaccines were given to people of color in California, who represent 6% of the population and 4% of cases. Meanwhile, whites received 29% of vaccines and accounted for 20% of cases and 37% of the population.
Health advocates say misinformation about the vaccine and lack of access have been key reasons for California’s racial inequities.
Now, they are urging the state and its partners to step up vaccination efforts in communities of color to prevent growing disparities when all California adults become eligible for the April 15 shooting. Some fear that residents with reliable internet, transportation and the ability to take off will continue to outdo the poor black and Latino communities that have been among the most affected by Covid-19.
California officials were blown away earlier this year when a vaccination program for seniors living in black and Latino communities was abused by outsiders who obtained the special group codes needed to schedule appointments.
Governor Gavin Newsom responded by saying that group codes are being abused and that the program will switch to individual codes. About a week later, the Newsom administration announced that it was allocating 40% of the vaccine doses to the affected communities.
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