Dr. Ruiz Vaccinates Constituents Alongside Desert Healthcare District at COVID Vaccine Clinic
Thermal, CA – Today, Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) administered the COVID-19 vaccine to constituents alongside Desert Healthcare District at a Rite Aid mobile vaccine clinic in Thermal, CA. The event took place at Desert Mirage High School and follows Dr. Ruiz's advocacy for retail pharmacies to prioritize hard-hit, medically underserved communities like those in California's 36th district.
Dr. Ruiz vaccinates constituents in Thermal, CA.
"As a doctor, it was great to be out on the ground, vaccinating our hardest-hit communities today," said Dr. Ruiz. "I am thankful for Rite Aid, Desert Healthcare District, and all of the wonderful local organizations that brought today's mobile clinic together. Thanks to President Biden's federal retail pharmacy program and the Health Equity Task Force, we are not only able to bring COVID-19 vaccines to pharmacies located in the hardest-to-reach communities, but also take vaccines directly to the people with mobile vaccine clinics like we did today. As Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I will continue to lead the charge for health equity so that we can protect our most at-risk populations."
"As part of our efforts to ensure vaccine equity for socially vulnerable and underserved communities, we're proud to continue our work with Congressman Ruiz and Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to stand up off-site vaccine clinics in California's 36th district," said Jocelyn Konrad, executive vice president and chief pharmacy officer, Rite Aid. "Community leaders like Congressman Ruiz and vaccine clinics like these are essential in our work to help end the pandemic and ensure vaccine access is as convenient and equitable as possible."
BACKGROUND
Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) is an emergency medicine physician and public health expert with humanitarian and disaster aid training. During the summer, Dr. Ruiz administered COVID-19 tests to constituents in farmworkers and homeless communities in CA-36. Dr. Ruiz has no administered the COVID-19 vaccine to constituents on multiple occasions.
Since summer 2020, Dr. Ruiz has been advocating for a strategic national distribution plan to ensure that people were getting the vaccines according to need, and not simply how much money they had.
As vaccine distribution has continued increasing nationwide, the hardest hit communities in medically underserved areas have not been getting the vaccines they need. Because of this inequity in distribution, Congressman Ruiz urged the state of California, the federal government, and private companies to prioritize these areas.
Dr. Ruiz has written to CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Walmart pharmacies urging them to prioritize hard-hit, medically underserved communities like those in California's 36th district as they expand the number of locations offering vaccinations.
Dr. Ruiz is also Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). Earlier this week, the CHC COVID-19 Task Force met with pharmacy executives from Albertsons, Southeastern Grocers, Good Neighbor Pharmacy Programs & Services, Ahold Delhaize Pharmacy Brands, and LeaderNET and Medicine Shoppe to talk about the pharmacies' efforts to ensure an equitable distribution of the COVID-19.