Gavin Newsom’s ‘vaccine czar’ resigns from California Government Operations Agency

The woman Gov. Gavin Newsom called California’s “vaccine czar” is leaving state service for a job in San Francisco, she told employees Wednesday. Yolanda Richardson, the secretary of the Government Operations Agency, will take over San Francisco’s Medi-Cal plan, she announced in an email. Her last day will be March 2. Newsom appointed Richardson in January 2020. She was almost immediately assigned key roles in the state’s pandemic response.

She was responsible for the transition of the state workforce to telework and the procurement of personal protective equipment and testing supplies, according to her state bio. Newsom also tasked her with leading the strike team to fix massive problems with distributing unemployment checks at the Employment Development Department and with leading the state’s 2020 Census effort. She appeared alongside Newsom during events aimed at increasing coronavirus vaccinations, including a vaccination lottery event at Universal Studios, where he praised her from the stage while park workers dressed as cartoon minions and trolls danced nearby.

“We have our own vaccine czar, Yolanda Richardson,” Newsom said. “We’re grateful for her incredible leadership and stewardship.” In a statement Thursday, Newsom said Richardson was “an integral partner in leading the state’s robust response to the pandemic and ongoing efforts to tackle its far-reaching impacts on Californians.” She’s the third top-ranking official to leave the administration in the last week. On Friday, the administration announced that Employment Development Department director Rita Saenz was stepping down. On Wednesday, California’s first surgeon general Dr. Nadine Burke Harris announced her resignation. The Government Operations Agency oversees the state Human Resources Department, the Department of General Services, several technology and IT departments, CalPERS, CalSTRS and other major departments. Before taking over the agency, Richardson helped found Covered California, which runs the online health insurance marketplace for Affordable Care Act health plans.

“This position gives me the opportunity to return to my health care roots,” she told employees in the Wednesday email. “Many of us have been changed by the pandemic; for me, the tragic outcomes due to health care disparities were personal, and I am committed to doing all I can professionally to close them for the most vulnerable Californians.”

Source: Sacramento Bee