CalChamber Joins California’s Community Vaccine Advisory Committee

The California Chamber of Commerce will be joining a broad coalition of community stakeholders to serve on the state’s Community Vaccine Advisory Committee. The committee will help guide the state’s decision making about COVID-19 vaccine distribution and allocation.

As the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine arrive in California, state officials plan to leverage a well-established existing immunization framework and emergency response infrastructure to coordinate efforts between state, local, and territorial authorities to distribute and administer the vaccine.

The Community Vaccine Advisory Committee will build on the work of the Scientific Safety Review Work Group and the Drafting Guidelines Work Group. The Committee will provide input and feedback for the ongoing planning and engagement efforts to ensure equitable vaccine distribution and allocation. In the beginning, vaccine supplies will be limited and will be distributed to those at highest risk.

California’s planning process for the eventual distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines will be guided by three overarching principles:

• Ensuring the COVID-19 vaccine meets safety requirements;
• Ensuring the vaccine is distributed and administered equitably, at first to those with the highest risk of becoming infected and spreading COVID-19; and
• Making transparency a top priority by bringing in community stakeholders from the beginning.

California’s COVID-19 vaccination plan is being implemented in several phases. State officials estimate that in the beginning, vaccine supplies will be limited and it likely will be well into 2021 before a vaccine is widely available.

Committee Members

The Community Vaccine Advisory Committee will be chaired by California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris. Below is a partial list of organizations that will have representation on the Community Vaccine Advisory Committee:

1. 1. AARP: Fred Buzo, Associate State Director
   2. Alzheimer’s Association: Susan DeMarois, Director of Public Policy
   3. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Jacob Snow, Technology and Civil Liberties Attorney
   4. American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP): Vivian Reyes, MD, Immediate Past President
   5. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME): Alia Griffing, Political & Legislative Director
   6. Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles: Andrew Nguyen, Director, Health Access Program
   7. Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF): Dr. Chang Rim Na
   8. Association of California School Administrators (ACSA): Dr. Ron Williams, Superintendent
   9. California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR): Michael Dark, Esq., Staff Attorney
   10. California Area Indian Health Service: Carolyn Pumares, PharmD, Pharmacy Consultant, IHS
   11. California Assisted Living Association (CALA): Heather Harrison, Senior Vice President of Public Policy & Public Affairs
   12. California Association of Area Agencies on Aging (C4A): Lisa Mancini, Director of the San Mateo County Aging and Adult Services
   13. California Association of Family Physicians (CAFP): Jeff Luther, MD, Board member, CAFP and Senior Delegate, AAFP
   14. California Association of Health Facilities (CAHF): Joe Diaz, Southern California Director
   15. California Association of Health Plans (CAHP): Charles Bacchi, CEO
   16. California Association of Long-Term Care Medicine (CALTCM): Michael Wasserman, MD
   17. California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH): David Lown, MD, CMO, California Health Care Safety Net Institute
   18. California Association of Rural Health Clinics (CARHC): Vicky Reilly, Member, Board of Directors and Medical Clinic Director at Tehama County Health Services Agency (TCHSA)
   19. California Association of Veteran Service Agencies: Chuck Helget, Executive Director
   20. California Behavioral Health Directors Association (CBHDA): Veronica Kelley, DSW, LCSW, Board President and Director, San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health
   21. California Black Health Network: Rhonda M. Smith, Interim Executive Director
   22. California Chamber of Commerce: Preston Young, Policy Advocate
   23. California Conference of Local Health Officers (CCLHO): Eric Sergienko, Health Officer – Mariposa County
   24. California Consortium for Urban Indian Health, Inc. (CCUIH): Virginia Hedrick, MPH, Executive Director
   25. California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC): Christina N. Mills, Executive Director
   26. California Hospital Association (CHA): Carmella Coyle, President & CEO
   27. California Immigrant Policy Center: (CIPC): Orville Thomas, Director of Government Affairs
   28. California Immunization Coalition: Catherine Flores-Martin, Executive Director
   29. California Labor Federation: Mitch Steiger, Legislative Advocate
   30. California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network: Amanda McAllister-Wallner, MPP, Director
   31. California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association (CLTCOA): Leza Coleman, Executive Director
   32. California Manufacturers & Technology Association (CMTA): Lance Hastings, President
   33. California Medical Association (CMA): Hendry Ton, MD, MS, Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis Health
   34. California Nurses Association (CNA): Rocelyn de Leon-Minch, Industrial Hygienist
   35. California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN): Kiran Savage-Sangwan, Executive Director
   36. California Primary Care Association (CPCA): Andie Martinez Patterson, Vice President of Government Affairs
   37. California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB): Thomas J. Kim, MD, MPH, Medical Director
   38. California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA): Jose R. Padilla, Executive Director
   39. California School Nurses Organization (CSNO): Pamela Kahn, RN, MPH, NCSN, President
   40. California State Parent Teachers Association (CAPTA): Carol Green, President-Elect
   41. California Superintendent of Public Instruction: Lisa Constancio, Deputy Superintendent
   42. California Teachers Association (CTA): Laura Kurre, Organizational Development Specialist
   43. Catholic Charities of California: Shannon Lahey, Executive Director
   44. Comite Civico del Valle: Esther Bejarano, Director of Health Programs
   45. County Health Executives Association of California (CHEAC): Kim Saruwatari, CHEAC Vice-President and Riverside County Public Health Director
   46. Disability Rights California (DRC): Andy Imparato, Executive Director
   47. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF): Sylvia Yee, Senior Staff Attorney
   48. Emergency Medical Services Administrators of California (EMSAC): Kristin Weivoda, EMS Administrator, Region IV, Disaster Medical Health Coordinator, Emergency Medical Services, Yolo County Health & Human Services Agency
   49. Faith in the Valley: Liugalua (Liu) Maffi
   50. First African Methodist Episcopal Church: Pastor J Edgar Boyd, Senior Minister
   51. First Five Association: Melissa Stafford-Jones, Executive Director
   52. Health Access: Anthony Wright, Executive Director
   53. Housing California: Lisa Hershey, Executive Director
   54. Jakara Movement: Naindeep Singh, Executive Director
   55. Justice in Aging: Denny Chan, Senior Staff Attorney
   56. Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC): Jeffrey Reynoso, DrPH, MPH, Executive Director
   57. Local Health Plans of California (LHPC): Brianna Lierman, CEO
   58. Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) (Central Coast/Indigenous Farmworker population): Genevieve Flores-Haro, Associate Director
   59. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California State Council: Tia Orr, Director of Government Affairs
   60. Service Employees International Union Local 1000 (SEIU 1000) (Unit 17-Nurses): G Perdigones, SEIU Local 1000 Steward; Committee Member, Asian Pacific Islander (API) Committee SEIU-Local 1000; and, Committee Member, Organizational Equity, Inclusion and Justice (OEI & J) Committee, SEIU-Local 1000
   61. State Council on Development Disabilities: Aaron Carruthers, Executive Director
   62. The California Endowment: Brian Mimura, MPH, Program Manager
   63. The Children’s Partnership: Gabriella Barbosa, Policy Director
   64. UFW Foundation: Diana Tellefson-Torres, Executive Director
   65. United Domestic Workers (UDW/AFSCME): Matthew Maldonado, Organizing and Field Services Director
   66. Vision y Compromiso: Maria Lemus, Executive Director
   67. Western Center on Law and Poverty: Crystal Crawford, Executive Director

Information about California’s vaccine planning is available on the California Department of Public Health website.

Staff Contact: Preston Young