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By Manny Otiko | California Black Media

Guaranteed basic income isn’t a new idea. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr talked about the idea of low-income people receiving regular checks from the government in the 1960s. It was brought up again during the 2020 presidential campaign when Democratic candidate Andrew Yang, a technology entrepreneur, made it a major part of his platform.

However, Yang was advocating for Universal Basic Income (UBI), which guarantees payments to everyone.

Guaranteed basic income only targets low-income people.

According to Yang, some kind of guaranteed basic income program is going to be necessary for the future when technology makes many jobs obsolete. A 2020 World Economic Forum study predicted that technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics would eliminate 85 million jobs by 2025. However, guaranteed basic income programs are gaining steam across California as poverty alleviation. Several cities are carrying out pilot programs.

Los Angeles County is conducting a guaranteed basic income pilot program called Breathe. The program provides $1,000 to 1,000 LA County residents over a three-year period. The program will be evaluated by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research.

Breathe is overseen by the county’s Poverty Alleviation Initiative. 180,000 residents applied to take part in the program. On a single day during the that process, 95,000 people submitted applications, according to a county press release.

To qualify for Breathe funds, the applicants had to be at least 18 years old, have a single-person household income under $56,000 or $96,000 for a family of four, and have experienced negative impacts due to COVID-19.

One motivation behind the Breathe program was the COVID-19 pandemic, which laid bare the problems of poverty and income inequality.

“The course of this pandemic has revealed the large number of County residents who are living on the brink of the financial crisis, with insufficient savings to weather a job loss, a medical emergency, or a major car repair. This guaranteed income program will help give residents the breathing room they need to better weather those crises,” said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.

Other guaranteed basic income programs are being pilot-tested in California.

Miracle Messages, an outreach program for the unhoused in San Francisco, started to pilot test a program called Miracle Money last year. Miracle Money provided $500 to homeless people. And the initial program seemed to be a success. According to Miracle Messages, about 50% of the people in the test group were able to find housing after they received the cash payments. Miracle Money was funded by a GoFundMe campaign.

Oakland Resilient Families is a Bay Area program that provides a $500 grant to families for 18 months. The program stresses it is different from universal basic income. “Guaranteed income is meant to provide an income floor but not meant to be a replacement for wages. Guaranteed income can also be targeted to those who need it most,” according to the organization’s website. Oakland Resilient Families is funded by donations.

Mountain View, another Bay Area city is setting up a new guaranteed basic income pilot program called Elevate MV. The pilot program promises to give, for two years, $500 a month to 166 low-income families with at least one child or who are currently pregnant. Elevate MV is operated through the Community Services Agency, a non-profit organization.

In San Diego County a guaranteed income pilot program was launched in March 2020. One hundred and fifty households with young children residing in one of the four priority ZIP codes in the county – Encanto, Paradise Hills, National City and San Ysidro — are receiving $500 a month for two years. The $2.9 million program is run by Jewish Family Service of San Diego with funding from Alliance Healthcare Foundation and from the state’s budget surplus.

These programs, including LA County’s Breathe program, are modeled after a universal basic income program that was tested in the city of Stockton. The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) provided $500 to 125 low-income residents for 24 months.

And the research showed that the SEED program worked, according to a National Public Radio (NPR) article.

“Among the key findings outlined in a 25-page white paper are that the unconditional cash reduced the month-to-month income fluctuations that households face, increased recipients’ full-time employment by 12 percentage points, and decreased their measurable feelings of anxiety and depression, compared with their control-group counterparts,” said NPR.

As Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs launched the SEED program in 2019. Following the promising results of the pilot program, in 2020 Tubbs launched Mayors for Guaranteed Income, a coalition of 60 mayors who are advocating for a guaranteed income program to ensure that all Americans have an income floor.

Tubbs lost his bid for re-election in 2020 and is now an adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom who is a proponent of guaranteed income.

The Adrienne Dell & Carmen Roberts Foundation brings Mardi Gras to Riverside with its annual Jazz on the Rooftop Fundraiser

RIVERSIDE, CA—-“Oh, those Mardi Gras Nights!”, that’s the theme for this year’s 4th Annual Jazz on the Rooftop fundraising event hosted by the Adrian Dell and Carmen Roberts Foundation (ADCR). The annual event will take place on Friday, October 21, 2022, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., at Riverside City Hall’s Rooftop located at 3900 Main Street in Riverside.

The entertainment for this year will be Lorie V. Moore and friends, and as usual there will be food and dancing throughout the night. Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to get their tickets as early as possible.

Please come dress to impress with your favorite mask. There will be a prize for the best mask. Tickets on sale now and may be purchased at www.adcrfoundation.org.

ABOUT JAZZ ON THE ROOFTOP

Jazz on the Rooftop is an annual fundraiser with the goal of raising funds for the Foundation’s community efforts, which include: the Riverside Black History Parade & Expo, the Young Women’s Empowerment conference, and the Backpack Giveaway for school age students.

By Manny Otiko | California Black Media

On November 8, San Bernardino County voters will be presented with a choice on their ballot — leave the state of California and create the 51st state or remain the largest county in the nation.

A consortium in San Bernardino is the latest group of people proposing to alter the boundaries of the state of California. The group wants the county to secede from California and create a 51st state that would be called Empire.

According to real estate developer Jeff Burum, a member of the group, San Bernardino County is not getting its fair share from the state of California. The movement is supported by some local mayors such as Acquanetta Warren, mayor of Fontana, and Bill Velto, mayor of Upland.

“We cannot continue to beg, and crawl … to get resources for our county… Let’s step out and be bold about it and let the people decide what they want to do.” Fontana Mayor Acquanetta Warren told the San Bernadino Board of Supervisors.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman said, “I’m frustrated, too. I’m frustrated with the state of California. It’s becoming, more and more, ‘one size fits all’ for the greatest state in the nation.”

Burum claimed the move has “overwhelming” support. But he is basing his assessment on a survey of 400 San Bernardino County residents by Wallin Opinion Research.

There are more than 2.1 million people living in the county. San Bernardino is the fifth-most populous county in California and the largest in the nation by area. Geographically, it is larger than Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Rhode Island combined.

The issue was first brought up at a meeting of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. And it has continued to be discussed at Board of Supervisors’ meetings over the past few months.

While Board Chair Hagman supports the move, Supervisor Joe Baca Jr., said he disagrees with the effort.

During public comment at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, Jane Hunt-Ruble, a San Bernardino County resident, said she opposed the move. But she said it would be popular with people who held anti-government feelings.

“It’s never going to happen,” she said.

A group of Inland Empire-area legislators blasted the move in a joint letter.

“We are shocked with the reasoning behind this initiative, concerned about the cost to taxpayers to essentially ask local officials to do their jobs, and disappointed in the narrative being created regarding our community,” according to a letter signed by Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton,) State Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino,) and Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona.)

The Inland Empire legislators also pointed out that in 2020, one-third of the county’s revenue came from state dollars.

However, the San Bernardino Board of Supervisors agreed to put the issue on the ballot. The county’s Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to put the secession measure on the 2022 ballot. One supervisor was absent.

According to a press statement, the question will be put on the November ballot.

It asks, “Do the people of San Bernardino County want San Bernardino County elected representatives to study and advocate for all options to obtain the county’s fair share of State funding up to and including secession from the State of California?”

Over the years, there have been several efforts led by various groups to partition California — or secede from the state. So far, none of them have succeeded.

The San Bernardino group’s move isn’t the only recent secession movement. In 2020, a group in northern California lobbied to leave the state and merge with parts of Oregon and Idaho. That group was motivated by dissatisfaction with California’s “liberal policies.”

Also, in 2017, there was gathering momentum for a movement calling for California to leave the Union and create its own country. That movement, labeled Calexit, was headed by Louis Marinelli, an American citizen who lived in Russia. According to Bloomberg, the campaign received financial backing from the Russian government. Marinelli later returned to America, renounced Calexit, and ran for a State Assembly seat. He received 6.4% of the vote.

Creating a new state is a complicated process. For example, secession from California would require approval from state legislatures, Congress and a signature from the president of the United States.

The last states to join the union were Hawaii and Alaska, which were admitted in 1959. And the last state to be formed by splitting away from another state was West Virginia, which was created in 1863.

Juanita Nixon Kelly, a 70-year resident of San Bernardino, California will celebrate her 100th birthday on October 3. She was born in Texas, Texarkana in 1922, raised in Oklahoma, then she moved to Los Angeles, California in 1937 at the age of 15, and later graduated from Jefferson High School in1940.

Kelly moved to the Westside of San Bernardino in 1952, where she raised a beautiful family of eight children, four girls and four boys. She has always had a love and desire to help others which led her to be employed at St. Bernardines Hospital and San Bernardino County Foster Care. She also worked as a clerk with the Voter’s Registrar with the voting polls in the family home for 10 years.

After retirement, she became a volunteer for the San Bernardino County Senior Companion for 27 leaving the program at the age of 90, continuing with her walk and work with God and the Church. Her years in the church she served as Sunday School Teacher, choir member, choir president, choir director, and mistress of ceremonies. God has blessed her to live and witness six generations of her family. Having grandchildren, great and great-great grandchildren the number exceeds well over 100.

Kelly’s favorite scripture is Psalm 34:1, which states, “I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth”. Her favorite song is “Because He lives I can face tomorrow”.

She has come this far by faith leaning on the Lord! She was also one of the founding organizers in Bethesda M.B.C with Pastor Fred M.Williams; New Jerusalem M.B.C; and Burning Bush M.B.C with Pastor Solomon Stewart. She is an active member of Living Faith Full Gospel Church with Pastor Shelby Roberts.

She was the recipient of the “First Annual Juneteenth Recognition Award”, The Inland Empire/High Desert Component Choir of the L.A Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America Inc in 2022, Dansby Stardivant II, GMWA Asst, Chapter Rep. She has also received recognition and honor from the offices of Joe Baca San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors 5th District, Assembly Woman Wilmer Carter, Mayor Pat Morris, President Bill Clinton, and San Bernardino city council. She her family’s Queen/ Matriarch.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA—- Kaiser High School ROTC color guard started the day off presenting the flags, and Valerie Evans singing the most beautiful rendition of America the beautiful.

Judges Dramond Crawford, Phil Cochran, and R.D. Evans had the hardest job, tasting and judging food from each of the grillers. Making the ultimate decision must have been hard, but somebody had to do it and they were the best men for the job.

Winners of the competition went home with cash prizes, trophies, and plaques. First place chicken, Fontana Police officers’ association, first place ribs San Bernardino County Fire Fighters, second place ribs St Andrews Masonic Lodge #16, and second place chicken went to San Bernardino Police officers’ association.

Parents enjoyed finger licking good barbecue with live entertainment provided by Summit High School band, Route 66 dance studio, Heart and Soul Dancers, and the Tims family praise dancers.

Fontana Kiwanis Key Club students from 3 high schools in Fontana assisted the children in the kids zone with a community service project making cards for kids, that will be delivered to kids hospitalized with chronic illness, and games.

The success of the DAY’S event is due to everyone who participated, and your interest in being “Unity in CommUNITY”.

Our weekly coverage of local news in San Bernardino County is supported by the  Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program supported by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support minority-owned-and-operated community newspapers in California.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA— The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Employees’ Benefit Association (SEBA) is awarding a total of $40,000 to distribute to teachers throughout San Bernardino County as part of their annual Back to School Shop with a Cop: Teachers’ Edition event.

“We are extremely thankful to our partners at SEBA, who continue to dedicate their time and resources to reward extraordinary teachers who are dedicated to serving our students throughout San Bernardino County,” said County Superintendent Ted Alejandre. “This program is an example of how educational and community partners can unite to enrich the learning experience for our students.”

San Bernardino County Superintendent Ted Alejandre will join SEBA President, Sgt. Grant Ward in visiting 16 school sites as part of this year’s program.

“We are fortunate to have generous donors and a valuable partnership with San Bernardino County Schools,” said Ward. “Together, we are able to make a positive impact in the community we serve and say thank you to our teachers for their hard work and dedication.”

A total of 160 teachers will be recognized, and each teacher will receive a $250 gift card that may be used for classroom supplies, innovative learning resources, teacher tools and other classroom needs.

On Aug. 23, all 14 teachers at Snowline Joint Unified School District’s Wrightwood Elementary School received $250 gift cards each for the first visit of this year’s event. The school held an assembly to celebrate all of their teachers.

With the support from generous sponsors, approximately 4,000 students countywide will benefit from the gift cards awarded to teachers as part of these Shop With a Cop events.

For more news and information, visit the SBCSS Newsroom and follow us @SBCountySchools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. #transforminglives.

The I.E. Live Market Nite group connected the whose who of the Inland Empire. They had dignitaries from all over the I.E., such as Kimberly Calvin, Councilwoman for the 6th Ward, Mayoral candidate Helen Tran, Chief Paulino from San Bernardino City Unified School District, Representatives from Supervisor Joe Baca Jr’s office, and Pam Montana, President of the local Kiwanis Club, and Board member of PAL Charter Academy, just to name a few.
The event was held at the PAL Center one of the longest operating agencies in Muscoy and has a 38-year community tenure in the I.E. Founder Dr. Mildred Henry of the PAL Center stopped by to support the event and promote her newly released book “From the Ashes, I Rise. “I’m so proud of Mr. Radden and his I.E. Live Team for bringing this event to the PAL Center and the Muscoy community Dr. Henry stated”.
The event played host to well over four hundred families and kids. I.E. Live Event Coordinator, Jasmine Jefferson, owner of I.E. Pop Up Events said, “It was just a great day for our community. We gave away free shoes, backpacks, and gifts and raffled off prizes such as Beats by Dre, headphones, a TV, and Clipper tickets.” Tickets were to a game against the Lakers. They were donated by the president of the Knockitoff Youth Foundation, Robin Mckinnon known as Malibu. She was also the host of I.E. Live Event. The music and production were done by DJ Muda. He is known as one of the top DJs in the Inland Empire.
Sistas Making a Difference, delivered a powerful punch to the day by giving out hundreds of free shoes. Founder Ronnie Miller said, “it’s always great when you can put smiles on children’s and families faces. Giving back to the community is what this event and the Founder is all about!” Founder of the I.E Live event, Dwaine Radden Sr. said “music, food, sports, and recreation is always a good recipe for a great event. They had a game truck, jumper, and a water slide for the kids.
Radden assembled a powerhouse group of organizations to be a part of the I.E. Live Market NiteTeam. PAL Center, Sistas Making a Difference, Knockitoff Youth Foundation, 20/20 Vision, Talon36.com, I.E. Pop Up Events. He said “We all had a seat at the table to create this history-making event. Our mission was to create unity in the I.E. Community. We have been plagued with countless murders of men, women, and children throughout San Bernardino and in the I.E. We must find ways to reunify our community if we want to restore the I.E. greatness we once had!”
R&B singer Latrice Kristine of the I.E. was the headliner, and she was accompanied by some dynamic performances by Dre-Lamonte, Kam, and Cornell Lamar, all from the Inland Empire. Vendors came from all over the area to be a part of this event. Reggie Dixon owner of Notorious R.I.B. from Riverside said “it must have been a pretty good day, I’m out of food.” I.E. groups also, partnered with the local Amateur Athletic Union (A AU) Football and Cheerleading organization which conducted plenty of foot traffic for the event. AAU leader MaishaTurner said, “it was a good day. It felt like a big family reunion.”
The next event will be held on November 5th, 2022 at the PAL Center, 2450 Blake Street. For more information on how you can be involved with the upcoming event. Call 909-314-6623 or email them at ielivemarketnite@gmail.com.

Our weekly coverage of local news in San Bernardino County is supported by the Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program supported by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support minority-owned-and-operated community newspapers in California.

By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media

A series of community Listening Sessions are being held statewide to help the nine members of the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans better understand how laws and policies that contribute to perpetuating the effects of slavery have negatively impacted Black Californians.

The most recent three gatherings authorized by the Task Force took place last month.

An online community session was conducted featuring panelists Friday Jones, Los Angeles Reparations Commission Vice Chair; Jan Williams, Downtown Crenshaw Board member; and University of California at Berkeley professor Dr. Jovan Scott Lewis.

“What (Reparations) must do is bring about this sense of recognition,” said Lewis, who is a member of the California Reparations Task Force.

“One of the things that the (Task Force) has accomplished so far over the past year is to bring about a sense of recognition for the Black American community in California and the country overall,” Lewis told the online audience.

The virtual Webinar and Community Listening session was hosted by the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California (CJEC), the American Redress Coalition of California (ARCC), and Community Health Councils (CHC).

CJEC is a state-wide coalition of organizations, associations, and community members that support reparations for Black Californians who are descendants of enslaved Black American men and women. CHC is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit committed to practices advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion to achieve sustainable policy and systemic change.

A sanctioned in-person community listening session was held in the city of Vallejo. It was hosted by CJEC with the support of the state’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA).

The event was held at Black-owned LaDells Shoes in downtown Vallejo. Personal testimony of adversity and success rooted in the Black experience in and around Vallejo were shared during this session. Struggles with employment, decent housing, racism in public schools, homelessness, police brutality, and the challenges of maintaining a business were covered.

“In May we had our first community conversation about reparations (in Oakland, Calif.) and it was an overall history of reparations in the United States,” said Dr. Kerby Lynch, who recently received a doctorate in geography from the University of California Berkeley. “This session is about what reparations look like for Vallejo. We are here to listen to one another’s stories and record these testimonies.”

Vallejo is one of the cities in the state with a modest population of Black people who are fighting for recognition during the reparations proceeding. It does have an abundance of Black history to be shared.

Home of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo is 32 miles north of San Francisco. The 2020 United States Census says the East Bay Area city had a population of 22,416 Black people (18.48%) out of a total of 121,275. Statewide Blacks are 5.4% of the population.

The third listening session hosted by CJEC was held
in Sacramento. Task Force member and Bay Area attorney Don T. Tamaki participated virtually in the session that was held in Sacramento’s Oak Park neighborhood.

At the Sacramento listening session, the community testified about how to build small businesses, Black people’s “Great Migration” from the deep south to the west coast, how the Freedman’s Bureau model can be used to determine reparations, and Black pioneer’s presence during the Gold Rush.

The community listening sessions are being conducted across the state by the Reparations Task Force’s seven “anchor organizations.”

The seven, Afrikan Black Coalition, Black Equity Collective, Black Equity Initiative, California Black Power Network, Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, Othering and Belonging Institute (University of California Berkeley) and Repaired Nations began conducting community gatherings in March.

The listening sessions are designed to ensure certain communities around the state have the opportunity to provide their thoughts and concerns about the work the task force is doing.

On June 1, 2022, the Task Force issued a 483-page interim report to the California legislature. The report surveys the ongoing and compounding harms experienced by African Americans as a result of slavery and its lingering effects on American society today.

“It’s a sweeping indictment,” Tamaki said of the report during the Sacramento community listening session. “It connects the harms of the past and follows the consequences that we face today. There have to be legislative remedies.”

The interim report also includes a set of preliminary recommendations for policies that the California Legislature could adopt to remedy those harms. A final report will be issued before July 1, 2023.

The Task Force in-person meetings will reconvene in Los Angeles at the Paradise Baptist Church on Friday, Sept. 23, at 9:00 a.m. and Saturday, Sept.24, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. The church is located at 5100 S. Broadway.

For updates and additional information visit Reparations Task Force Meetings.

By Petty Officer 1st Class Patricia Rodriguez, Navy Office of Community Outreach

NORFOLK, VA – Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian Franz, a native of Barstow, California, serves aboard the Navy’s newest warship operating out of Norfolk, Virginia. USS Fort Lauderdale, an amphibious transport dock ship, was commissioned July 30 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“If there is one thing that history has shown us from the days of antiquity it is that the stakes of the competition for control of the seas are high and for our part, USS Fort Lauderdale stands ready to deliver on any day, and at any time,” said Capt. James Quaresimo, the ship’s commanding officer. “And those that may wish to challenge us – they should pause. For we are equipped with America’s unstoppable secret weapon that our enemies will never be able to duplicate and that is the fierce, dedicated, and unstoppable, men and women of the United States Navy and Marine Corps!”

Franz joined the Navy nine years ago. Today, Franz serves as an aviation boatswain’s mate.

“I joined to get out and explore the world,” said Franz. “I also like the ocean and wanted to be close to it throughout my career.”

Growing up in Barstow, Franz attended Barstow High School and graduated in 2008. Today, Franz relies upon skills and values similar to those found in Barstow to succeed in the military.

“My hometown taught me the importance of being responsible as an individual for my own actions,” said Franz.These lessons have helped Franz while serving aboard USS Fort Lauderdale.

Amphibious transport dock ships are warships used to transport and land Marines, their equipment, and supplies by embarked Landing Craft Air Cushion or conventional landing craft and amphibious assault vehicles augmented by helicopters or vertical take-off and landing aircraft. These ships support amphibious assault, special operations, or expeditionary warfare missions and serve as secondary aviation platforms for amphibious operations.

Serving in the Navy means Franz is part of a team that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on strengthening alliances, modernizing capabilities, increasing capacities and maintaining military readiness in support of the National Defense Strategy.

“The Navy provides maritime peace for all countries,” said Franz. We’re the first line of defense for the United States and our allies.”

With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize the importance of accelerating America’s advantage at sea.

“Maintaining the world’s best Navy is an investment in the security and prosperity of the United States, as well as the stability of our world,” said Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. “The U.S. Navy—forward deployed and integrated with all elements of national power—deters conflict, strengthens our alliances and partnerships, and guarantees free and open access to the world’s oceans. As the United States responds to the security environment through integrated deterrence, our Navy must continue to deploy forward and campaign with a ready, capable, combat-credible fleet.”

Franz and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.

“I’m really proud of being named Junior Sailor of the Year in 2020,” said Franz. “I was up against 20 other sailors in the region. The ship had an awards ceremony for me. It made me proud and lifted me up to be recognized. It gave me a morale boost that I really needed. It greatly impacted me.”

As Franz and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.

“Serving means a lot to me because my uncle and grandfather both served, so it’s a family tradition that I’m proud to carry on,” added Franz.

By Sunita Sohrabji

As the U.S. faces predicted surges this fall of Covid-19 infections, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced its approval of both the Pfizer and Moderna updated boosters.

Designed to combat more infectious and lethal subvariants of the Omicron variant, the updated boosters contain a combination of the original formulation and an additional formulating targeting the BA.5 subvariant, now the dominant version of the virus.

Public health experts predict that the updated boosters will also protect against the emerging BA.4 and BA.2.75 subvariants, which have been detected in other countries and are gaining ground in the US.

Speaking at a Sept. 7 news briefing jointly organized by Ethnic Media Services, California Black Media, and the California Department of Public Health, four doctors who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic hailed the new updated boosters.

Speakers included: Dr. Gil Chávez, Deputy Director in the Center for Infectious Diseases at the California Department of Public Health; Dr. Maggie Park, County Public Health Officer, San Joaquin County Public Health Services; Dr. Oliver Brooks, Chief Medical Officer, Watts Healthcare; and Dr. Eva Smith, Medical Director, K’ima:w Medical Center in rural Hoopa, California.

California has already received 600,000 doses of the new updated booster. Anyone over the age of 12, who has completed the primary two-dose regimen is eligible to receive an updated booster. Those who have received a booster two months prior are also eligible to get the new updated booster. Shots will not be prioritized, as there is adequate supply for all who want them.

“The updated boosters are pulling double duty by increasing immunity against the original coronavirus strains while also protecting against the newer Omicron variants,” said Chavez.

“These vaccines have literally saved millions of lives, helped protect us against the worst outcomes of the virus, and frankly, helped us move on as a community and as a state,” he said.

“I have personally been the beneficiary of the Covid vaccine,” Chavez added, noting that despite being vaccinated and boosted, he nonetheless had an encounter with Covid.

“Thanks to the vaccine, I was able to have a mild illness and recover quickly without any long-lasting effects. My children, my grandchildren, all are vaccinated and boosted. They all have had mild cases of COVID. We are very grateful to this vaccine for really allowing us to continue to be a family and stay healthy,” said Chavez.

The doctor also noted that those who have had Covid should still get an updated booster, as the degree of protection from an infection wanes rapidly over time.

Park countered the myth of the pandemic “being over.”

“This virus is not going away just because we want it to. It is evolving. It is actually becoming more highly transmissible and getting smarter about evading our immunity, whether that’s natural immunity from prior infection or immunity from vaccination. So we have to try to stay a step ahead of it,” she said.

More than 72 percent of California’s population has received the primary series of vaccinations. But less than 59 percent have been boosted. Park noted that in San Joaquin County, less than 49 percent of those who are eligible have received a booster.

Park also countered another myth. “We’re still hearing that shots don’t work. People saying, ‘My friend is fully vaccinated and boosted, but she still got Covid.’”

“And to that I say ‘yes, but is she still alive?’ And yes, of course she is. We never promised that the vaccinations would mean you wouldn’t get Covid. We just said that it would reduce the severity of your disease and your chances for requiring hospitalization,” she said.

Brooks addressed vaccine hesitancy with what he called a “three Cs” approach: vaccine confidence, vaccine complacency, and vaccine convenience. His patients have expressed their hesitancy, saying: “It came out too soon, too fast. Don’t trust the government, don’t trust the pharmaceutical agencies, don’t trust public health care.”

But the doctor noted that the mRNA technology on which the vaccine is based was developed 11 years ago and has been used to treat illnesses prior to Covid.

He addressed convenience, noting that booster shots are available at pharmacies without an appointment, and are free, even for those who lack health insurance. Vaccine complacency, said Brooks, has become the prevailing factor: people see those who are vaccinated and boosted but still getting symptomatic Covid.

The doctor said he was especially concerned about long Covid: people who are unvaccinated are more likely to have symptoms even six months after an initial infection.
“We have a vaccine that is a biotechnological miracle. There’s a miracle in front of you that’s averted 16 million deaths and it’s safe,” said Brooks.

Smith, who runs a clinic on the Hoopa Valley Reservation in Humboldt County, noted that when the vaccine first became available, she was surprised to see elders lining up to get it.
“They wanted it. They didn’t want to die. They were watching on TV what had happened in other native communities with really horrible, horrible death rates,” she said.

Younger and middle-aged people were more resistant to getting vaccinated. So, despite the enthusiasm of elders, the Hoopa community has gone through several Covid spikes.

“We are a small tribal clinic trying to deal with a lot of acute and chronic disease issues. But we’re dealing with complacency. We’re dealing with people being tired, tired of having a shot, tired, honestly, of the inconvenience of ‘I’m going to be sore for a couple of days.’”

“I’m regularly saying I’d rather have mild flu-like symptoms for a day or two then to be sick.

I want to live,” said Smith, noting that she has extended family on both coasts and wants to be able to take care of her children and grandchildren.

“And so I’m going to do whatever it takes, whether it’s getting a flu vaccine or getting a couple of different Covid vaccines,” she said.