Sacramento, CA…With expanded eligibility and 50 percent of Californians age 16 and older now having at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced partnerships with nearly 200 faith-based organizations to expand the state’s vaccine outreach and equity efforts. The Administration is leading an effort to provide at least 25,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to pop-up clinics at these locations in the hardest-hit areas of the state, recognizing the important role places of worship have in helping to address their members’ COVID-19 vaccine concerns and providing educational resources. Combined with the doses that have been administered through mobile clinics, the total number of doses administered to places of worship to date is more than 38,000.

“Our partnerships with community-based organizations and faith leaders are the reason why folks throughout California, no matter what zip code they live in, have access to vaccines – especially in those communities hardest hit by this pandemic,” said Governor Newsom. “We moved quickly to allocate 40 percent of our vaccine supply for those communities most impacted by this pandemic, and we’ll continue to lean on these community-based partnerships to further educate Californians about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.”

Over 24 million doses have been administered in California, with 5 million doses administered in the hardest hit communities. The Governor’s initiative builds on work by the Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to help administer more than 13,500 doses across 15 mobile clinics at churches in Los Angeles and Oakland, in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This is in addition to the work being done by local health jurisdictions to set up vaccination clinics at these sites.

“Extremely proud to live in a state and have a Governor who prioritizes trusted voices in the Black faith community to save lives through ensuring that there is COVID-19 vaccine equity and access,” said Executive Director of C.O.P.E. & New Life Christian Church Pastor Samuel J. Casey. “Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (C.O.P.E.), Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches (IECAAC), in partnership with Loma Linda University and now the State, are working collectively to put actions with our faith in stomping out COVID.”

To date, 13 pop-up clinics at places of worship have operated in April in the Inland Empire, San Diego, Bay Area, Central Valley and Los Angeles. Additional sites are planned for the rest of the month.

Several pop-up clinics have received funding through the Together Toward Health Initiative, a $29.4 million public-private partnership with Public Health Institute. The partnership has supported more than 180 local, community-rooted organizations across California whose members serve as trusted experts for COVID-19 education, testing and vaccination access in their communities.

“Our congregation is honored to partner with the state on making vaccines more accessible to our community,” said St. Mark Parish Administrator Reverend Rubén Morales. “During this pandemic, we’ve provided food distributions to keep our neighbors fed—we’re thankful for support to build on this work with life-saving vaccinations to protect our members and the community of Richmond.”

In addition, as part of the broader COVID-19 harm mitigation campaign, the state is engaging in community specific faith-based initiatives to reach Black, Asian American and Pacific Islander and Latino communities of faith respectively. All efforts will reach nearly 200 places of worship throughout the state with critical information on COVID-19 vaccines. Outreach will happen through webinars, faith leader testimonials, townhalls, email blasts and other engagement to build confidence in vaccines and mobilize Californians to get vaccinated.

All Californians aged 16 and up are now eligible for vaccination. Residents can visit MyTurn.ca.gov or VaccinateALL58.com, or call (833) 422-4255 to sign up for notifications and schedule an appointment if eligible.

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