GONZALES — Community Foundation for Monterey County partnered with the City of Gonzales, Gonzales Fire Department and Gonzales Pharmacy to host two mass vaccination events on April 28 and 29, totaling 1,170 doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
These doses were the second shots, with recipients having participated in a large-scale vaccination three weeks prior.
In addition to vaccination information, community health workers have also been reaching out to residents and sharing up-to-date information in Spanish, English and indigenous languages to educate them about Covid-19 resources; secure Covid-19 testing and vaccination appointments for them; and connect them with resources, such as food, housing and cash assistance.
Last week’s vaccinations took place at St. Theodore Church, where community members lined up, filled out paperwork and received their shot before heading out. The vaccines were provided free of charge.
The mass vaccination events were part of the Virus Integrated Distribution of Aid (VIDA) community health program run by Monterey County. At one point, the state’s Covid-19 deaths were the highest in the nation, with Latinos representing 46.3% of deaths, despite making up 38.9% of California’s population.
