Monterey County Board of Supervisors approve Blue Shield MOU, but not without some reluctance.

For all the controversy at the state level over the Gov. Gavin Newsom's deal with Blue Shield to be the third-party administrator delivering Covid-19 vaccines to counties, there was barely discussion before a unanimous vote at the Monterey County Board of Supervisors today, March 23, when it came time to sign a memorandum of understanding with the insurance company for vaccines as required by the state.

The only hint there was any opposition came from Supervisor Chris Lopez, who hesitated before casting his vote then said, "Reluctantly, yes." After the 5-0 vote, Chair Wendy Root Askew asked him to elaborate.

Lopez praised the Monterey County Health Department for its efforts to improve equitable distribution of the vaccine to communities hard hit by Covid-19 but said, "adding one more layer between us and reaching those communities doesn't make me comfortable."

Lopez also worries that the county now had to learn a whole new system of vaccine distribution. "We've been put in a difficult situation," he said of the state's requirement to accept Blue Shield as the third-party administrator.

Before the vote, County Counsel Les Girard informed the board that the state had sent two letters clarifying the MOU in answer to counties' concerns. One letter, sent March 16, outlined how counties must work with Blue Shield to determine the appropriate amount of vaccines to be delivered and that once here, counties would be able to distribute as they see fit, including the hiring of contractors to administer vaccines, provided they are not already receiving vaccines from Blue Shield. 

On Monday a state letter clarified that counties would be able to continue the use of closed points of distribution, known as PODS, which some feared would have to end once Blue Shield took over. The closed PODS have been used extensively by the agriculture industry to vaccinate farmworkers and by counties working to increase the equitable distribution of vaccines to vulnerable populations.

Kim Stemler of the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association, representing the agriculture industry during the board meeting, told supervisors that they have been able to vaccinate 25 percent of the county's farmworkers through such PODS. She was happy to hear the PODS would be allowed to continue. 

The one caveat, Girard said, is that the county must be responsible for reporting vaccination numbers daily to the state whenever there are PODS or contractors conducting clinics.

Now that the board has approved signing the MOU, County Administrative Officer Charles McKee will wait until March 30 to sign it in case any more changes to the MOU are made or additional clarifications come from the state. The deadline to sign is March 31.

Root Askew said she wants to closely monitor the progress under the MOU and be ready to speak up to the state when problems arise.