The federal government will give Sacramento County close to $60 million to strengthen its response to the coronavirus pandemic as a part of a larger effort to boost public health operations.
The funding will support COVID-19-related efforts in testing, case investigation, contact tracing, surveillance, containment and mitigation from a grant through the California Department of Public Health, which will receive more than $1 billion for local health departments.
Jim Hunt, the county’s interim director over the Department of Health Services, said Tuesday that money will help lift up the county’s efforts to control the pandemic. The funding will become available on March 1 and expire in July 2023, Hunt told the Board of Supervisors.
“We’ve actually been advised and encouraged by the state ... to spend the money now while there is the highest need,” Hunt said. “What’s very possible is that this is a lot of money going out to every county in the state, and a lot of it probably will not be spent very quickly. There is an expectation that there’s going to be a reallocation in the coming months or years.”
The funding comes from a supplemental appropriations bill passed by Congress. The money was routed through a program overseen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aimed at improving epidemiology and laboratory capacity. Other counties in the region are also in line for funds: Yolo County will receive $10.4 million; Placer County will receive $12.1 million, and El Dorado County is in line for $6.5 million.
Unlike the previous allocation from the federal government, this one comes with a lot of strings attached. The purpose is limited to public health functions that the county is still sorting through. Dr. Olivia Kasirye said the grant will allow the Sacramento County’s public health division to substitute general fund revenue used in its budget with the new money.
Supervisor Phil Serna said he hoped to avoid the same kind of public spectacle created last year when the county was given Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars. A decision by county administrators to direct most of the money to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office proved controversial among residents who complained for months.
The county said it was an accounting maneuver used to spend down expiring funds. But the public viewed it as misaligned priorities at a time when many jurisdictions are reconsidering how much they spend on law enforcement.
“It is good news — however, hearkening back to what we went through this past summer, I would hope that there is clear communication with the general public about the nuances,” Serna said. “The last thing I want to have to do is spend a lot of time responding to constituents thinking it’s a blank check, and that this is the money that’s going to be used for everything from scanners to small-business assistance.”
Sacramento County health officials said this bonus money is a figurative shot in the arm for their vaccination program, and for what they expect will be long-term efforts to keep the virus suppressed once vaccines have done their job.
Hunt said the county had expected to get some money from this CDC Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity program but was surprised by the amount, saying it was more than expected. Although it’s uncertain when the money will arrive, Hunt said the state has told him it will advance 25 percent of the funds soon, possibly in the coming days.
The county has not yet decided how to prioritize the funds, but Hunt said the money will enable the county to ramp up its vaccine effort quickly if and when the suppliers and federal government begin shipping more doses.
He said that the county’s recovery from the pandemic will require a significant amount of testing and contact tracing work over time and that a substantial portion of the money likely will go toward those efforts.
So far, Sacramento and other counties have not gotten as many doses as they want but are hoping to see dosage shipments increase soon.
“Right now, people are clamoring for the vaccines,” Hunt said. “We want to open our economy again. It should provide us the capacity to administer significantly more vaccines and meet the needs of the community.”
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