On Tuesday, Sept. 1, California governor
 State public health workers protest cuts in pay and services outside governor’s press conference. |
It is expected that millions of people will be infected, thousands will get sick and hundreds will die.
Standing inside the laboratory, Schwarzenegger assured Californians the state was doing an excellent job in preparation. Speaking to the press, he said, “We expect vaccines to be available mid-October and a mass vaccination program will follow. The state has been working with health providers, schools and others to prepare for the vaccination program. It is expected it to be the largest since the polio vaccination in the 50s.”
While the state is preparing for the epidemic, the governor’s words don’t match his actions. With deep cuts in funding to state and local public health departments, the capacity to combat the coming epidemic has been diminished instead of reinforced as the governor would have the public believe. For example, in San Mateo County, there is a four month wait at the public hospital to see a primary care physician.
State public health workers, who are on furlough three Fridays a month at the facility where he was speaking, greeted the governor with a large banner that read “End Furloughs!”
The governor has imposed furloughs on state workers so that banks and other investors get paid their interest on state-issued bonds. If the governor really represented the needs of the majority of Californians, he would be furloughing payments to the greedy banks instead of state workers.
