NEW YORK – For months, New York City health leaders have struggled to improve vaccination rates in communities of color.
This may be your biggest win yet.
According to data from NYC Test and Trace Corps, 50.82% of city residents who identify as Latino had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by mid-August. That compared to the 49.52% of city residents who identify as white.
The statistics reflect a dramatic change in the demographics of vaccination. As of early June, just over a third of Latino residents had received a vaccine. The whites were almost ten points ahead.
But in the two and a half months that followed, the vaccination rate for whites increased only about 5 points, while the vaccination rate for Latinos in the city increased almost 15 points.
“We have good news today. We see vaccination rates increasing among certain Latinos, of all ages. And that’s due to a lot of work within the communities, ”said Dr. Judith Flores, leader of the community engagement team in vaccination at the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation.
But Flores cautioned that there is a lot of work to be done, because vaccination rates still lag behind in predominantly Hispanic zip code groups, especially in the Bronx, Upper Manhattan, and parts of Queens and Brooklyn.
“The risk is very local. So if you look at your risk, look at your zip code. Look at the people around you. Watch where your child goes to school, ”Flores said.
Why are some Hispanic neighborhoods still lagging behind in the number related to vaccinations?
Public health leaders attribute much of the blame to Spanish-language social media, where anti-vaccination messages abound.
Last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James joined the Hispanic Federation and asked social media platforms to remove misinformation in Spanish about vaccines.
Frankie Miranda, president of the Hispanic Federation, said that all too often social media companies claim to be successful when they remove misinformation in English about vaccination, but allow falsehoods in Spanish to persist.
“There are myths that have been debunked in English and social networks have been able to stop the dissemination of this information that has been repackaged and directed to our community,” said Miranda.
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