UnidosUS and Affiliates bring vaccine information directly to our community

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The UnidosUS Esperanza Hope for All mobile educational tour will run every weekend from April 16 through May 23, taking information about the COVID-19 vaccines directly into Hispanic neighborhoods across the country, including rural and urban communities where health resources are lacking or difficult to access.

Check out locations, dates, and times below:

By Beatriz Paniego-Béjar, Content Specialist, UnidosUS

Misinformation, distrust, and inequitable distribution. Those are some of the factors influencing Latinos’ access to the COVID-19 vaccines, and UnidosUS and its Affiliates are joining forces to ensure our community understands the importance of getting vaccinated.

The COVID-19 vaccines will help protect us from getting sick and will help end the pandemic so we can return to the moments we’ve missed the most during this long year. Getting vaccinated, wearing our masks, keeping six feet of physical distance from those outside our household, and washing our hands regularly will help keep everyone safe. Because, it is up to us, depende de nosotros.

As soon as the pandemic hit in March of 2020, UnidosUS rose to the challenge and positioned themselves at the forefront of the crisis to ensure a culturally and linguistically appropriate response, so Latinos were accurately informed about COVID-19 and could protect themselves and their loved ones.

These efforts have now been transformed into the Esperanza Hope for All campaign, which has a core focus on promoting vaccine equity, while also working to mitigate the economic and education effects of the coronavirus pandemic on Latinos.

UnidosUS is leaning in its Affiliates to lead on culturally responsive education and outreach; informing the community in both Spanish and English; providing resources for local COVID-safe outreach and vaccination events; and engaging local providers and community partners.

MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE

Latinos have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, more likely to require hospitalization and even die from this virus because of their greater exposure to it. “That is why it is imperative that we foster trust in the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines and combat vaccine misinformation and disinformation,” says UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía.

Murguía reinforces that: “To do that, we have to reach out to Latinos where they live and ensure that information is delivered by people they trust in an environment where they’re comfortable.”

As part of the Esperanza Hope for All initiative, that’s what UnidosUS, supported by a CDC grant, is doing. The national organization, in partnership with its Affiliates, is bringing information about the COVID-19 vaccines directly into Hispanic neighborhoods across the country. An educational mobile tour is launching this weekend, and it will travel through rural and urban communities where health resources are lacking or difficult to access.

A primary goal of this mobile tour is to offer trusted information about the vaccines to Latinos throughout the United States for everyone to make the best choice for them and their families. It is okay to be hesitant about vaccines, and that’s why this tour is bringing facts about the vaccines and their development and encouraging our families to have a conversation about the vaccines with their doctors or health care providers.

UnidosUS Affiliates are also part of this effort, and representatives from these community-based organizations and federally qualified health care centers will be present at some of these spots to talk to their community about the resources and services they are offering, and to direct families to vaccination sites.

Visit this page to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines and COVID-19 (también disponible en español).

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