NEW YORK, USA.- A network of doctors, mostly Hispanic, on Tuesday asked local and federal authorities to open a large vaccination center in a Hispanic area of New York and that supplies be delivered to vaccinate there 10,000 neighbors a day, after the US government announced that a variant of the coronavirus likely originated in this Latin area.
The net SOMOS Community Care, of 2,500 doctors, issued a statement calling for bureaucratic barriers to be lifted to open the center before March 10 and fill it with Spanish-speaking doctors to gain the trust of residents of Washington Heights, in upper Manhattan.
LEA: The US Senate approves to debate aid package for covid-19
That neighborhood was mentioned Monday by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House adviser on health issues. Fauci said Washington Heights is likely the area where the variant called B.1.526, which is spreading to other areas of the city and has already reached other states.
Variants
The doctor Ramon Tallaj, founder of SOMOS, told the AP that in addition to the center it is necessary for the vaccines to be sent directly to the doctors’ offices.
“We do not understand how the vaccine was given to hospitals, emergency systems and pharmacies, and instead, to community doctors, whom people trust and know, who speak the same language, who are in their neighborhood, they haven’t been given it, “Tallaj said in a telephone interview.
The expert stressed that the information available so far is that the vaccine against covid-19 it is still effective against the new variant even though the mutation may lower its effectiveness a bit. The important thing, however, is that the vaccine works and therefore “you have to bring vaccines to the community and give them to doctors,” said Tallaj.
+ European Union prevents export of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia
The variant is one of five that have been identified so far. Another comes from Great Britain, another from South Africa, another from Brazil and another from California.
Contagion
Washington Heights, like other Hispanic neighborhoods in the city, was hit hard by the coronavirus. New York was at the beginning of the pandemic one of the main sources of covid-19 in the world. Hispanics and African Americans in the city suffered higher rates of hospitalizations and deaths from the new virus than whites.
Dominican-born Congressman Adriano Espaillat, who represents Washington Heights in the House of Representatives Federal in Washington said on Monday he was “very concerned” about the new variant.
“We will meet with medical professionals and local and state officials to ensure a coordinated plan on how to best combat contagion in our communities,” said the congressman. “We have gone too far to backtrack now on the progress made to date in this fight and we urge all eligible residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
SEE: Mexico inaugurates the most recent cable car in Latin America
Hispanics in the United States face obstacles in receiving COVID-19 vaccines, creating public health risks as the virus changes and spreads. Some of the obstacles include lack of knowledge about immunization, state government internet portals without instructions in Spanish, difficulties finding appointments in their communities, and among those living illegally in the country, fear of immigration authorities.
– .
