En las noticias
The sun-baked desert valley tucked behind the San Jacinto Mountains is best known for an annual music festival that draws 100,000 fans a day and a series of lush, oasis resort towns where well-heeled snowbirds go to golf, sunbathe and party. But just beyond the turquoise swimming pools of Palm Springs, more than 10,000 farmworkers harvest some of the country's largest crops of date palms, vegetables and fruits.
Congressman Raul Ruiz is a physician and public health expert, representing one of California's rural districts. He tells Lawrence O'Donnell that systemic inequalities and access to resources are the biggest challenge to getting vaccines to underserved communities. "They don't have internet to make online appointments at vaccination centers, they have to work at high risk essential jobs and don't have hours to spend on the phone, and they're very concerned if they test positive that they won't be able to go to work."
The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs advanced a proposal Thursday that would allot more than $15 billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs under President Joe Biden's coronavirus relief plan.
The United Farm Workers Foundation is working to get vaccines distributed to farmworkers in the Coachella Valley.
The organization held a clinic for east valley workers Wednesday but some are saying more work needs to be done to protect our essential workers.
The U.S. is currently administering about 1.4 million vaccination shots a day. About 9.5% of people in the U.S. have already gotten one dose.
But demand still outstrips supply in cities across the country, while anecdotes abound about difficulties of trying to get appointments.
Scientists say vaccinations need to be as fast as possible to prevent more contagious coronavirus variants from taking over.
Local Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz is urging retail pharmacies to join the fight for health equity when it comes to coronavirus vaccinations.
Ruiz wrote a letter to the CEO of CVS Health calling on the pharmacy giant to prioritize high-risk, underserved communities in its vaccine administration plans.
The pharmacy chain announced a list of vaccination sites across Southern California, but there are no locations available in Riverside County.
Andrea Garcia and her family contracted the coronavirus this fall, and her grandmother died from it. Now, as the oldest of four children and the first in her family to go to college, Garcia said she feels a responsibility to inform her Spanish-speaking parents about COVID-19 and the vaccine.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is calling on governors to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prioritize food and agriculture workers in the vaccine rollout.
In a letter sent to the National Governor's Association on Wednesday, the caucus made an urgent case: Latinos make up more than a third of the workforce in those industries, yet they account for nearly three-fourths of confirmed coronavirus cases in the same sectors.
Black and Latino Americans are falling behind in the nationwide race to get vaccinated against Covid-19, even in blue states and localities praised for championing racial equity during earlier phases of the pandemic.
Several Coachella Valley agencies and Riverside County partnered to bring a mobile vaccination site to farmworkers of the eastern Coachella Valley. A total of 250 vaccinations were designated for Monday's event at Tudor Ranch in Mecca.
Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz and Supervisor V. Manuel Perez were among those who attended. Monday was Rep Ruiz's first public appearance since he was cleared after contracting COVID-19.