Californians Still Subject To State’s Strong Push For COVID Vaccinations

Regardless President Joe Biden’s announcement in September the COVID-19 pandemic is over, the federal government’s a plan to end it’s nationwide COVID-19 state of emergency in January and California’s anticipated end of its own OVID state of emergency in February, state health officials continue to bombard Californians with fear-filled appeals to get vaccinated and continue to wear face masks assumed to help ward off the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

As the California Globe posted on its news website, “The CDPH {California Department of Public Health} is using fear porn to terrify Californians,” even though the state’s own virus tracking shows a weekly COVID positivity rate of 4.1 percent of those tested, compared to the 5.3 percent for influenza positivity rate, and a negligible COVID mortality rate of.004 percent.

Californians are being inundated with TV, radio, online, social media and print advertisements pushing the latest iterations of the COVID vaccine and masking practices set by the CDPH, which has announced its latest focus on the Asian and Hispanic populations, as well as low-income communities.

The agency’s ‘Let’s Get to ImmUnity’ campaign launched statewide in early March as part of an overall $40 million push to reassure members of the public that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and the “greatest tool to end the pandemic,” the primary message says..

The effort has successfully positioned its ads with an array of multicultural and multilingual media outlets. The advertisements specifically directed at the Asian Pacific Islander communities will encompass a total of 10 languages and dialects: Cantonese, Hindi, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Laotian, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog and Vietnamese.

The ads strongly suggest Californians stay informed about their ongoing vaccination options and availability by signing up for the state’s “My Turn” informational notifications at myturn.ca.gov.

In one of his recent articles, Kevin Nelson, a contributor to the California Globe, posed the question, “Why Do So Many Californians Still Wear Masks?” He observed that the San Francisco Bay Area, where he lives, continues to boast the highest concentration of mask wearers, closely followed by the masking contingent in Los Angeles.

Nelson added “a quick tour of the California Department of Public Health Office of Communications, as well as their Twitter page” offers a lot of answers.

The CDPH still generates a barrage of Twitter posts pushing mask use.

“Level up and upgrade your mask today! Masking is still essential in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants,” one post reads. “Reduce your chances of exposure by selecting an effective mask with good fit and filtration, like an N95, KN95, or KF94.”

Another post pushes masking even harder: “Not all masks offer equal protection against COVID-19, but it is important to remember that any mask is better than no mask, especially when you are sick or caring for someone.”

Now that an updated version of the COVID-19 booster has been released and recommended by health officials for children, even though it reportedly has not yet been adequately tested for human use, the CDPH has quickly picked up the baton and started vigorously pressing for youth boosters.

“The updated COVID-19 booster,” reads one of the agency’s latest Tweets, “is now available for everyone ages 5+! #GetBoosted to keep yourself and your family safer with the most protective doses yet. Find updated boosters for ages 5+ at http://MyTurn.ca.gov, your pharmacy, or your healthcare provider.”

The CDPH message train continues with: “Many people, including young adults, are suffering from long-term health problems months after they got COVID-19. Getting vaccinated and wearing a mask that has both good fit and good filtration, is the best way to prevent long COVID. https://myturn.ca.gov #VoicesofLongCovid.”

Then, according to the CDPH, flu shots and COVID vaccines complement each other::“Protect yourself. Protect each other. Getting both a flu & a COVID-19 vaccine is safe, and http://MyTurn.ca.gov makes it easy!”

California Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Granite Bay) addressed a recommendation by the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that all school children receive a COVID vaccine, along with their other prescribed shots, in order to attend school.

“Last week, the CDC added COVID-19 vaccines to the ‘recommended immunization schedules’ for children. The stakes in the midterm elections are now even higher,” Kiley said in a statement. “The decision around school entrance for vaccines rests where it did before, which is with the state level, the county level and at the municipal level, if it exists at all. They are the arbiters of what vaccines are required, if any, for school entry.”

Put another way, whether or not California faces a child vaccine mandate for COVID depends on who holds political power after the midterm elections in November.

California is currently the only state in the union with a K-12 mandate — that on hold, because lawmakers defeated an attempt to pass a mandate initiated by Democrat, of course, state Senator Richard Pan. Gov. Newsom withdrew his own version of a mandate, but kept it on the books for possible future adoption.

California’s parent revolution will have the opportunity to say — and influence — a lot in November.