California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a $2.7 billion disaster response package to combat coronavirus by supporting hospitals, improving test methods, and boosting immunizations throughout the state, The Hill reports.
Newsom announced his budget plan for 2022-2023 on Saturday, which includes $1 billion more in coronavirus spending than the $1.7 authorized in last year’s budget.
His administration referred to the new $2.7 billion program as “the nation’s greatest disaster response package.”
According to Newsom, the monies would be distributed “with an emphasis on the hardest-hit neighborhoods.”
The petition requests $1.4 billion in emergency funding to “rapidly ramp up immunizations, boosters, statewide testing, and extra medical personnel” at hospitals combating the new coronavirus.
The budget includes $1.2 billion in coronavirus-related spending, with an extra $583 million earmarked for expanding vaccines and booster doses for California residents, as well as countering misconceptions through the “Vaccinate all 58” public education campaign.
Additional monies would help the California Department of Public Health and state emergency medical services, as well as boost hospital staffing and other services and strengthen contract tracking operations, among other things.
According to Newsom’s administration, California has invested $11.2 billion in resources to battle coronavirus since the outbreak began.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, approximately 69 percent of California’s population is completely vaccinated, yet the state has also had more than 77,000 coronavirus-related fatalities and an increase in infections since the advent of the highly transmissible omicron form. According to official data, there were more than 9,000 coronavirus patients hospitalized in California as of January 6.
On Friday, Newsom said that the state’s National Guard had been called to support additional testing locations in California.
Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association, called Newsom’s plan “a critical step toward ensuring that the health care needs of every Californian are fulfilled while a crisis with no clear end date continues to cost lives every day.”
The budget, which must be passed by the state assembly, will fund the state beginning in July.
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