Vaccine Shipments Delayed Again

Good Morning, I’m Kinsee Morlan, in for Annica Colbert….it’s Thursday, Feb. 18. >>>> The county’s largest vaccination super station was back open yesterday after supply shortages closed it down, but the county says it will again pause vaccinations at some locations today. That’s coming up, but first... let’s do the headlines…. ######## The San Diego Union-Tribune analyzed data that shows that San Diegans of Latino, Black and Asian descent are being vaccinated at lower rates than their white counterparts. That mirrors a statewide study of data that we reported on earlier this week. U-T biotech reporter Jonathan Wosen told KPBS Midday Edition yesterday that the rate discrepancy can be attributed to lack of access to technology and transportation, difficulties using that technology and language barriers, in addition to hesitancy over getting the vaccine. *** The power blackouts that have hit Texas may have an impact on our energy supplies soon. Severe freezing weather in other parts of the country has dramatically increased demand for natural gas. That means San Diego is facing a shortage in its own energy supplies. Natural gas used in San Diego comes primarily from Texas, a state which has been hit hard by extreme weather. As a result, SDG&E and SoCalGas, which ships natural gas to San Diego, have been reaching out to big customers, like San Diego State University, to warn them of possible disruptions. They also asked them to conserve energy. *** Fernando Tatis Jr. will be a Padre for very, very, very long time. The young player has signed a 14-year, $340 million contract extension. MLB.com says it's the third-largest contract extension in terms of new money added and the longest ever contract extension in terms of years. ######### From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need. The snowy, bitter cold weather in much of the country is having a direct impact here in San Diego. More shipments of COVID vaccine are being delayed. KPBS reporter John Carroll reported on that on Wednesday. He also outlines a new deal struck between the governor and lawmakers to help ease the burdens that so many are experiencing due to the pandemic. The vaccination super station at Petco Park reopened today.. Whether it remains open is an open question. SOT :11 - :17 CG: Nathan Fletcher/San Diego County Supervisor “We have received word that several shipments that were scheduled to arrive this week will not be arriving due to weather.” In the County’s Wednesday news conference, Supervisor Nathan Fletcher said beginning tomorrow, the County will likely have to pause vaccinations at some locations… he didn’t say which ones. Fletcher says the County will also have to reschedule some existing appointments. But he says supply chain issues should work themselves out over the next week to 10 days. Then, Fletcher says the County, along with other vaccine distributors, will throttle back up and move into the next tier of recipients. SOT 2:39 - 2:50 “We do believe, and have a high degree of confidence, that in the first week of March, we will be able to move into that first tier of essential workers, teachers, food and agricultural and law enforcement.” At the state level, Governor Newsom continued his tour of vaccination sites. SOT 49:47 - 49:51 “These things don’t just magically arrive in the grocery store.” TRACK: Newsom was in Coachella today… and he broke some news. He’s reached a deal with lawmakers on small business grants, one-time 600-dollar stimulus checks for low-income Californians… and housing for farmworkers who’ve gotten COVID. The 24-million dollar program will pay for farm and food processing workers to stay in hotels if they contract the virus and have no place to quarantine. Newsom also talked about the state’s rapid improvement in COVID numbers… SOT 51:03 - 51:11 - 51:23 “One month ago today, we had 11.3% percent positivity rate in California. Today it’s 3.3%. //BUTT TO: 51:15// One month ago today, we had 42,000 reported cases, today just over 4,000.” TRACK: Newsom says over the last 2 weeks, there’s been a 38% reduction in the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19. Supervisor Fletcher reported the same positive situation for San Diego County… the numbers continuing to move in the right direction. Like Fletcher, the Governor says the state is ready to ramp vaccinations way up… as soon as the weather cooperates, and the federal government increases its allocation to California. And that story from KPBS reporter John Carrol. *** IN CHULA VISTA….FIRST RESPONDERS ARE DELIVERING VACCINATIONS TO SENIORS JUST STEPS AWAY FROM THEIR HOMES. KPBS REPORTER MATT HOFFMAN HAS MORE ON THE NEW PROGRAM THAT AIMS TO HELP THOSE MOST AT RISK FOR CORONAVIRUS. The Chula Vista Fire Department is bringing vaccinations directly to South Bay Seniors, part of an effort called “operation immunity” Wednesday crews were set up at the community center at Terry’s Mobile Home Park in Chula Vista. Some residents like Sung Ja Oh say before this she didn’t know where to get vaccinated. 11;38;03;11 Sung Ja Oh, lives in Chula Vista I just appreciate they come here and help us out so we don't have to worry about going somewhere. A lot of people cant drive the people who live here The program recently started and is a partnership between Chula Vista fire and San Diego county that is also reaching those unable to leave their homes. Homebound seniors over 65 in Chula Vista can call 619-476-2397 to schedule an appointment. **** SOME PROMINENT RESEARCHERS, INCLUDING TWO FROM SAN DIEGO, ARE CALLING ON FEDERAL OFFICIALS TO DO A BETTER JOB AT EXPLAINING HOW COVID 19 SPREADS. KPBS REPORTER ERIK ANDERSON HAS DETAILS. UCSD Atmospheric Chemist Kim Prather says airborne transmission is probably the way most people contract COVID 19. MASK 1A 00:02:06 – 00:02:22 “Indoors, aerosols are like being in the room with a smoker. There’s no other way to describe it. They float out. They are produced simply by speaking., Not by coughs or sneezes. They just come out of people when they’re talking.” Prather and a dozen other researchers are asking the Centers For Disease Control to update safety guidance to acknowledge that risk. I honestly believe that once we acknowledge it’s in the air….then we can put in the proper infrastructure and tell people how to make sure their air is clean... She says adequate masks, better ventilation and indoor hepa filters can go a long way toward lowering the risk indoors. *another doctor quote here. The scientists join several prominent health organizations to help reduce the risk of transmission for workers. *** San Diego is one of the few areas of the country that is not being battered with winter storms and freezing temperatures. But we are looking at one of the driest Februaries on record. Meteorologist Alex Tardy of the National weather service here in San Diego spoke to KPBS’s Midday Edition host Marueen Cavanaugh about the extremes of this year’s winter weather. “So here we are in the middle of February… ...we are looking at a mild trend too coming up for the later half of February where things start getting more mild and that will really make it feel more spring-like.” That was Meteorologist Alex Tardy of the National weather service in San Diego. Listen to the full interview with Tardy and KPBS’ Maureen Cavanaugh by finding and subscribing to KPBS Midday Edition wherever you listen to podcasts. *** And coming up.... A move toward righting historical wrongs with reparations….We’ll have that story after a quick break. The state of California is looking into reparations for African Americans… Here’s KPBS Midday Edition host Jade Hindmon with more. For African-Americans, America has bad credit as the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr said in his, I have a dream speech nearly 50 years ago. The country has defaulted on its promise of 40 acres and a mule along with Liberty and justice for all. Now, the state of California has started a commission to study reparations. A DISA LK belong is a professor of Africana studies at SDSU, and he makes the case for reparations in an opinion piece. He wrote for the San Diego union Tribune. I spoke with him recently, here's that interview California is talking about reparation secretary of state, Shirley Weber, who was previously a state assembly member for the 79th district authored assembly, bill 31 21 to study and develop reparations proposals for African-Americans. What do you think California? And this country needs to study as it pertains to reparations at this point? I mean, what's left to look into, Speaker 2: 00:58 Well, honestly, I don't think there's a whole lot, uh, to study. I mean, certainly the data already exists that let us know about, uh, you know, educational advancement, uh, economics, um, incarceration rates, uh, birth rates. I mean, there are just a number of metrics that we could look at to see that African-Americans are still, uh, in a state of oppression in this country. So, you know, I don't know that we necessarily have to study it, uh, but perhaps from a political standpoint, uh, that is considered a necessary step on the path to, uh, truly dealing with reparations. But I am proud of the work that our secretary of state did, Dr. Shirley Weber. Uh, I hope that the state of California, you know, kind of do right by its African-American citizens, uh, but also serve as a model for the rest of the country, you know, for what, for what can happen. Speaker 1: 02:10 You have this conversation about reparations, many people think it's just about slavery, but you point out that reparations would need to address contemporary forms of oppression and everything in between. Can you explain that a bit? Yeah. Speaker 2: 02:23 Oh, absolutely. I mean, of course enslavement, uh, is the original sin of this nation. And, you know, the situation that African-Americans find ourselves in today is a result of that, uh, troubled traumatic history, but subsequent to enslavement, I mean, we had years of Jim Crow, segregation, uh, racialized violence in, uh, you know, terror, terrorism really directed towards African-Americans with lynching and, uh, sexual assaults were also something that was a pandemic in African-American communities or, or racialized sexual assaults. Uh, so there were, there are a number of forms of oppression and discrimination, uh, since enslavement, that is also a part of the reparations debate. And in fact, that's most significant to the re reparations conversation than enslavement itself. Speaker 1: 03:26 What do you think reparations should be for African-Americans? Speaker 2: 03:30 Well, I think it can be a number of things. I think it should be a number of things, whether we're talking about housing grants, uh, free public education or free post-secondary education, free healthcare. And, uh, of course, you know, healthcare is something that is a right, that all Americans should have. Uh, but that's definitely one of them. I think that a targeted affirmative action program, uh, should certainly be implemented. Of course we have affirmative action nationwide course, but the primary beneficiaries, even of affirmative action are white women. So I think that, you know, reparations can take and should take, uh, a number of forms and really not just one. Speaker 1: 04:16 And does social justice play in reparations? And why is it so important? Speaker 2: 04:20 I don't think that this country could really move forward and truly be what it has always said. It was, uh, without actually living up to these ideals of social justice. I mean the United States government and its citizens since its birth have always gone about the world promoting itself in such a way that doesn't really reflect the reality of the people that actually live here or LA, or at least in this context. Uh African-Americans so, so social justice is very much a part of reparations, but to add to that when, and if reparations are awarded to African-Americans, there must also be put in place preventative measure so that these kinds of things do not happen again. So it's really not enough to provide reparations without truly creating a just and good multicultural society. So social justice is very much a part of reparations it's reparations itself, but it's also instituting preventative measures to ensure that we live in a society that we think we should live in a just society Speaker 1: 05:36 And reparations. Aren't a new concept for America. Can you talk a bit about that? Speaker 2: 05:42 Well, it's not, you know, this conversation of reparations for African African-Americans, you know, or reparations for African-Americans is not as pioneering, you know, revolutionary strategy or tactic to address past wrongs. Uh, but it's one in a line of reparations. I mean, you know, when we talk about reparations for Japanese Americans, for their unconscionable internment in concentration camps during world war two, there has been reparations given to indigenous people of this country, not nearly enough, but that, that happened even, you know, to, to an extent, uh, Jewish Americans have received, you know, reparations for something that the, the type of antisemitism that didn't actually take place here in the United States. So there is a, there is a blueprint for reparations, uh, in, in this country and there's no justifiable excuse to support reparations, uh, for other groups and then deny reparations for, uh African-Americans. Speaker 1: 06:51 Why do you think it's taken so long for America to just now begin to talk about reparations? Speaker 2: 06:57 Well, I think the protests of the 2020, uh, put the plight of African-Americans, uh, front and center in this country, I think that if the pandemic and the protest never happened, we wouldn't be having this conversation today. So I think that's the reason why we are having the conversation, uh, but hopefully, uh, unlike some of the conversations that we have had, which have been very much cosmetic, uh, just kind of scratching the surface, but hopefully this discussion of reparations, you know, we'll eventually have much more traction. And that was SDSU professor of Africana studies Adisa Alkebulan (al-Kay-buh_lon) talking with KPBS Midday Edition Host Jade Hindmon. *** And that’s it. That’s the show. Thanks so much for listening...and look...Anica is off today because she’s busy helping out with the on-air pledge drive KPBS is doing today. 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