The COVID-19 pandemic in the last year proved to be extremely difficult for many of us. Many of us lost loved ones, jobs, savings, and the normalcy that once led our lives. We had to adjust quickly to unprecedented challenges, which shook many of us to our core.
After serving on the Rialto City Council for 14 years, I decided to make a change and run for San Bernardino County Supervisor where I felt I could make a bigger impact in the community. I felt that I could advocate for the constituents of the fifth County District during these challenging times.
Since being elected in November 2020, my office has been busy in making sure we encourage the community to follow safety protocols like wearing our masks, practicing social distancing, and getting vaccinated.
In the early stages of vaccine distribution, I worked with our county staff to ensure we had a COVID-19 hotline service to assist community members who needed help making appointments to get vaccinated. This became a pressing issue as many of our seniors did not have access to a computer or internet to make those appointments online.
As we started to receive information about who was getting vaccinated, we learned that people of color were being vaccinated at much lower rates than their counterparts were. We had to be proactive in our efforts to get communities of color vaccinated so we brought the vaccines to them. We collaborated with organizations like Inland Empire Concerned African-American Churches, Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement, and Veterans Partnering With Communities, Inc. /Fontana Veterans Resource Center to do mobile vaccination sites in their own communities. Other forms of advocacy my office prioritized included providing the information in Spanish for those members of the community who were not English-speakers.
We could not stand idly and expect equity to be innately in the delivery process.
We are on our way to the yellow tier with 1,455,813 vaccine doses administered to county residents, with over 663,000 residents fully vaccinated (two doses or either Pfizer or Moderna or one dose of Johnson & Johnson). San Bernardino County Department of Public Health is vaccinating at six dedicated vaccination sites, four Public Health community clinics, and multiple mobile sites. We also have two state/OptumServe sites in Bloomington and Rialto and dozens of pharmacies, hospitals, and medical offices offering vaccines.
We are proud of the work we have done to help the state get to a place where being fully reopen is even an option.
We have stayed vigilant and must continue to practice the commonsense safety measures we have been practicing since the inception of the pandemic. I look forward to a day where businesses, celebrations, travel, and many hugs from family and friends will be back in our lives but we are not there yet.
We must all do our part to ensure the governor’s plan to fully reopen the state of California by June 15th can become a reality.
Joe Baca, Jr. is the San Bernardino County Supervisor for the 5th District which encompasses cities of Colton, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino, and the unincorporated communities of Arrowhead Farms, Bloomington, Devore, El Rancho Verde, Little Third, Rosena Ranch, and Muscoy.
