SACRAMENTO – (INT) – As California is about to enter the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, a sweeping 5-point plan to bring it to an end is being proposed.

Estimated at $2.7 billion, the emergency response package would bolster testing capacity, accelerate vaccination and booster efforts, support frontline workers, strengthen the health care system and battle misinformation.

Governor Newsom says the focus would be on the hardest-hit communities.

The centerpiece of the plan calls for the distribution of millions of COVID-19 antigen tests to local health departments, community clinics and county offices of education and schools.

As to the campaign against misinformation, $583 million would be spent on a public education campaign in partnership with 250 ethnic media outlets to get more Californians vaccinated and boosted.

California Medical Association (CMA) President Robert E. Wailes said Saturday the request comes at a critical time as cases of the Omicron variant surge across California and the nation.

If approved, it could be “a vital step toward making sure the health care needs of every Californian are met as a crisis with no known end date continues to claim lives every day,” California Hospital Association President Carmela Coyle said.

Story Date: January 10, 2022