Governor Gavin Newsom brings 500 COVID-19 vaccines to Seventh-day Adventist Church in San Bernardino

On Friday, April 2, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom met with 5^th District County Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr., Congressman Pete Aguilar, and Assemblymember Eloise Gomez Reyes at the 16th St. Seventh-day Adventist Church in San Bernardino.

At the clinic, 500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines were administered as part of the Governor’s effort to bring 25,000 doses to places of worship for communities of color across the state during the month of April.

“As elected officials, it is our responsibility to ensure that we provide our communities with equitable access to vaccinations. I am proud of the work of the county to provide local African-American churches with pop-up vaccination sites to increase the accessibility of vaccines in the community,” said San Bernardino County Board Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr.

Over the course of the past few months Baca, Jr. has been busy ensuring equitable distribution of vaccines and was elated to have secured 500 additional doses in his Fifth District.

The initiative was brought to fruition by a partnership between Loma Linda University Health, Inland Empire Concerned African American Churches, and Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement, which is a network of churches focused on the Inland Empire’s black community.

“We had the honor of having Governor Newsom visit one of our pop-up vaccination sites on Friday at the 16th Street Seventh-day Adventist Church. His visit aligned with his initiative to ensure 25,000 shots are distributed among communities of color through places of worship in April,” concluded Baca, Jr.

At the clinic, Newsom was seen greeting participants with elbow bumps and even chatting with patients while receiving their dose of the vaccine.

According to Newsom, as of April 6, California has administered 20 million-plus vaccinations and looks forward to the state fully reopening by June 15.

For more information on COVID-19 in San Bernardino County, visit sbcovid19.com.