SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom talked about the vaccine arriving in the state this week and concerns about rising coronavirus cases during a press conference on Tuesday.
Gov. Newsom called the vaccine the "light at the end of the tunnel" but added that California is still in the tunnel.
"This has been a very optimistic 48 hours, meaning we’re finally seeing the vaccine being utilized," Newsom said. "We’re finally seeing those we value the most, [who] we’ve celebrated since the beginning of the pandemic, get that support. Those emergency room docs and nurses, folks there on the front lines of this pandemic and have been since the beginning.”
To start mass-educating people on the COVID-19 vaccine, Newsom also announced a statewide campaign, 'Vaccinate All 58.'
The new campaign launches this week, and is focused on each region and each county's diverse population. Gov. Newsom said it was a "bottom up, not top down" approach, and that state leaders would be working with community and faith leaders, especially in underserved communities.
At the same time, Gov. Newsom discussed the recent rise in coronavirus cases and the strain it is putting on the healthcare system.
Staffing is reportedly the largest issue. To combat some of these issues, state and federal healthcare workers are being added to the staffing pool, and more requests have gone out to the federal government. Similarly, quarantine guidelines for healthcare workers have change. The state suggests a 10 day quarantine for asymptomatic individuals exposed to the virus. Now, healthcare and emergency repsonse workers will only have to quarantine for 7 days as long as they test negative on day 5 or later.
Newsom said that these staffing issues should not affect the distribution of the vaccine.
“We are prioritizing those that are distributing and administering the vaccine, as well as those that are the most essential healthcare workers in the first traunch, the first distribution of the two dose vaccine," Gov. Newsom said. "The good news is that we’re seeing hundreds and hundreds of thousands of vaccines now in the queue, and we’re expecting a few million by the end of the month.”
According to the latest data from the state's ICU monitoring website:
- Greater Sacramento Region: 14.9% (up from 14.8%)
- Bay Area: 15.8% (down from 17.8%)
- Northern California: 29.0% (unchanged)
- San Joaquin Valley: 1.6% - (up from 0%)
- Southern California: 1.7% (down from 2.7%)
California small businesses will have more time to file their tax returns in 2021. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Monday that gives small businesses until the end of July to file their first-quarter tax returns. More broadly, the order gives a 90-day extension on returns and payments for all businesses with returns of less than $1 million.
It comes as California prepares to enter the new year still in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, which has prompted restrictions that have shuttered many businesses. Newsom's order also modified farmworker housing laws and quarantine guidelines for workers.
The executive orders came the same day as California was able to vaccinate people for the first time against the coronavirus amid a huge surge in infections and hospitalizations.
Intensive care unit nurse Helen Cordova received a shot of the Pfizer vaccine Monday at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted that Cordova was one of the first Californians to be vaccinated. The first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine left Michigan early Sunday for 145 distribution centers nationwide. California’s initial batch was scheduled to total 325,000 doses arriving over several days. Newsom said another 400,000 doses would arrive next week.
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