Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Newsom Brings News of New Valley Vaccine Site. Big FEMA Site Plans Still on Hold.
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 4 years ago on
February 11, 2021

Share

Gov. Gavin Newsom came to Fresno on Wednesday to slake the region’s thirst for bigger supplies of COVID-19 vaccinations for the Central Valley, but for some observers the glass he brought was only half full.

“We’ve had very advanced conversations with the (Biden) administration.” – Gov. Gavin Newsom on a possible FEMA vaccination site for Fresno

Newsom announced at a Fresno Fairgrounds news conference that an OptumServe testing facility at Reedley College will start providing 600 weekly vaccine doses later this month.

But he said a much anticipated, large-scale Federal Emergency Management Agency community vaccination site, similar to sites announced for Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, and Santa Clara, is still on the drawing board.

We are committed to working with the Biden administration to land on a date, because I know you want a date for when we have a mass vaccination site here in the Valley,” said Newsom. “We’ve had very advanced conversations with the (Biden) administration.”

On Tuesday, several sources told GV Wire℠ that Newsom would soon announce that the Save Mart Center will be designated as a mass vaccination site where up to 6,000 vaccines could be administered daily. The Save Mart Center is being eyed because of its size indoors, ample parking, and ease of accessibility.

“It really helps us to plan better and really evaluate our doses.” – Fresno County community health manager Joe Prado on Newsom’s commitment to provide a three-week vaccine availability projection

The push to get more vaccines into the community is becoming more acute as Newsom announced a new variant was just found in the state Wednesday morning. “We have the first reported cases of South African variants. Two cases have been reported through Stanford, one in Alameda County and one in Santa Clara County,” the governor said.

One major commitment the governor made Wednesday was to provide at least a three-week projection of how much vaccine counties will receive.

That’s exactly our resolve,” Newsom said in a response to a question from GV Wire℠.

Fresno County community health manager Joe Prado said county health officials can plan better with more accurate, longer term information on vaccine availability.

“It really helps us to plan better and really evaluate our doses,” he said.

City, county, and state officials attended the news conference at the Fresno Fairgrounds Wednesday. From left to right, Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes talks with Fresno City Mayor Jerry Dyer. County Administrator Jean Rousseau stands next to Supervisor Nathan Magsig. (GV Wire/Jahz Tello)

Reedley OptumServe Site

“It’s important to get them (rural ag workers) vaccinated because of the pathogens they come across in the nature of the work that they do.” – Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger

The Reedley College site is currently run by OptumServe as a COVID-19 testing location. The county hopes to designate three days next week to administer 200 vaccine doses a day at the current walk-up location.

The initial focus for vaccination efforts there will be on people age 65 and older. “We’re going to be communicating with individuals who submitted their interest form,” Prado said.

The intent is to reach out to individuals who live in the immediate Reedley area first before opening it up to the wider community.

Sen. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, was standing next to Newsom as he talked about the new vaccination site at Reedley College. She said getting rural area residents protected from the coronavirus is deeply personal for her because both her parents worked in poultry plants.

“Our agriculture employees have been extremely important to our food supply chain,” said Hurtado, who represents the Reedley area. “It’s important to get them vaccinated because of the pathogens they come across in the nature of the work that they do.”

Hurtado doesn’t want health care investments in the Central Valley to be limited to Wednesday’s announcement or a future announcement of a FEMA site. “We need to start investing in the Central Valley because we’re ground zero for pathogens jumping from animals to humans very much like COVID-19,” she said.

The vaccine doses for the site will come out of the county’s current allotment. Just this week, the state released 19,000 doses to Fresno County. A week ago that number was 8,000.

California has partnered with OptumServe to provide free, confidential testing statewide for quite some time. Tests are available for everyone, including underserved communities and individuals who are at high risk. Ten of these testing sites are operating now in Fresno County.

Prado says the county will evaluate how the Reedley site functions when it’s conducting both testing and vaccinating, with an eye to expanding to other sites in the county’s rural areas.

FEMA Site Not Restricted to Just Fresno

“We’re not limiting it based on where you live.” – Cal-OES State director of Crisis Communication Brian Ferguson on a possible FEMA site in Fresno

Prado says a FEMA and California Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES) site would be a huge plus. “not only for Fresno County, but for the Central Valley overall.”

Brian Ferguson, Cal-OES state director of crisis communication, said vaccinations would not be restricted to residents in the Fresno area.

“We wouldn’t want to do a limitation based on where you live,” he said. “If you live in the region, and you’re in a target group and you need the vaccine, we want you to be able to get it.”

GV Wire℠ asked Ferguson whether residents from Merced or Visalia could drive to a mass vaccination site in Fresno and get inoculated, once the site opens. “Yes,” he responded. “We’re not limiting it based on where you live.”

In theory, he said, someone could drive from Oakland to Fresno to get vaccinated. “But, you’d probably have to drive past four or five mass vaccination sites in other places in order to get here,” Ferguson said..

5 Million Vaccinated

Newsom met with an 85-year-old former farmworker who became the 5-millionth person in California to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

The woman, identified as Maria from Reedley, received the dose at the Fresno Fairgrounds on Wednesday morning. She said she was scared at first, but now she’s educating the farmworker community about the safety of the vaccine.

She just received her second Pfizer shot. She’s here with her husband as well,” said Newsom.

[activecampaign form=25]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

DON'T MISS

Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

DON'T MISS

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

DON'T MISS

Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says It Killed Top Iran Commander

DON'T MISS

Mahmoud Khalil Vows to Resume Pro-Palestinian Activism After Release From US Jail

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Wants to Fund More Trade Schools. Just Not These.

DON'T MISS

Two Days of Terror: How the Minnesota Shooter Evaded Police and Got Caught

DON'T MISS

B-2 Bombers Moving to Guam Amid Middle East Tensions, US Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief

DON'T MISS

Bentley the Porch-Crasher Pup Hopes for a Forever Home

UP NEXT

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

UP NEXT

Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says It Killed Top Iran Commander

UP NEXT

Amazon’s Prime Day 2025 Levels Up With Four Days of Deals Starting July 8

UP NEXT

Voice of America Parent Terminates Over 600 More Staff in Likely Death Knell

UP NEXT

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s ‘One-Gun-Per-Month’ Law

UP NEXT

Fresno Now Has a Professional Shakespeare Co. Thanks to Measure P Sales Tax

UP NEXT

Fresno Area’s Newest College Grads Boast Nearly $24 Billion in Earning Power

UP NEXT

Marijuana’s Links to Heart Attack and Stroke Are Becoming Clearer

UP NEXT

‘Little Lobbyists’ Urge Senators to Oppose Trump’s Bill Cutting Medicaid

UP NEXT

Police, DA Refuse to Release Records on Latina Senator’s DUI Arrest Near Capitol

Investors React to US Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

14 hours ago

Tulare County’s Colvin Fire Ignites With 80 Personnel on Scene

14 hours ago

US B-2 Bombers Involved in Iran Strikes, U.S. Official Says

15 hours ago

Trump Says Iran’s Key Nuclear Sites ‘Obliterated’ by Airstrikes

15 hours ago

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

20 hours ago

Pakistan to Nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

20 hours ago

Vance, in Los Angeles, Says Troops Need to Stay, Blasts Newsom Over Immigration

20 hours ago

Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says It Killed Top Iran Commander

20 hours ago

Mahmoud Khalil Vows to Resume Pro-Palestinian Activism After Release From US Jail

20 hours ago

Trump Says He Wants to Fund More Trade Schools. Just Not These.

20 hours ago

World Leaders React to US Attack on Iran

The reaction of world leaders after U.S. forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday Iran time ranged from Israel lauding President ...

12 hours ago

Patrons of the Chapel Street Cafe watch as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. June 21, 2025. (Reuters/Dylan Martinez)
12 hours ago

World Leaders React to US Attack on Iran

The U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2023. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Congress Members Split Over US Attack on Iran

Emergency personnel work at an impact site following Iran's missile strike on Israel, amid the Iran-Israel conflict, in Haifa, Israel, June 20, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Investors Brace for Oil Price Spike, Rush to Havens After US Bombs Iran Nuclear Sites

President Donald Trump gestures next to a new flagpole with the U.S. flag after disembarking Marine One upon arrival at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 21, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt)
14 hours ago

Investors React to US Attack on Iran Nuclear Sites

A wildfire dubbed the Colvin Fire broke out Saturday near Woodlake in Tulare County, burning 46 acres with 0% containment and threatening two structures, according to CalFire. (CalFire)
14 hours ago

Tulare County’s Colvin Fire Ignites With 80 Personnel on Scene

15 hours ago

US B-2 Bombers Involved in Iran Strikes, U.S. Official Says

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation alongside U.S. Vice President JD Vance, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 21, 2025, following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Pool
15 hours ago

Trump Says Iran’s Key Nuclear Sites ‘Obliterated’ by Airstrikes

Oct 24, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; General view of the centerfield plaza during media prior to game one of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images/File Photo
20 hours ago

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend