Convincing the Latino community in New York to reach out to get vaccinated against COVID-19 It has been a challenge for the Health authorities, which is supported by state figures that reveal that only 15.7% of the Hispanic population has agreed to receive the prick. According to the most recent vaccination figures from New York State, so far 16,395,758 have been of vaccine doses: 47.7% of New Yorkers already have one and 37.5% of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated.
And now that the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 12-15 is about to receive the formal approval of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which would expand immunization from next week, currently available for those over 16 years old, there does not seem to be a consensus among Hispanic parents who row towards the same shore. In New York, only 134,912 children under 18 years of age have received at least one dose of the vaccine; of these, 59,011 minors are fully immunized.
This is the feeling that is felt in the streets of neighborhoods with a large Latino presence in the Big Apple, such as Corona, in Queens, where doubts reign and misinformation among many, who do not see with good eyes that vaccines are made available to minors.
This is how it manifests Lourdes Montoya, mother of two boys 13 and 14 years old, to whom the very idea of thinking that her children will be vaccinated soon with the dose of Pfizer, makes her utter a resounding cry of opposition.
“No. Oh my God, no. I do not agree that if the boys are healthy, young and well, put on something that they did so quickly and that one still does not know what true effects it has. I don’t let my children touch them or prick them or anything, “said the Dominican mother, who has not received the vaccine, despite qualifying for the injection for several weeks.
And while receiving a vaccine information packet from a City official who has deployed mobile clinics to dose residents in neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, such as Corona, Johnny vega He also shared his opposition to vaccinations for children.
“I do not agree that children have this vaccine, because there are many doubts that we still have, and I think they are the ones who are least exposed and I would not want to put them at risk, “said the father of the family, of Mexican origin, who admitted to being fully immunized with the two doses. “We adults, who are working on the street all the time, do have to get vaccinated, but not children. I also think that we need more information about vaccines, because there are many things that we do not know and I think there should be more transparency ”.
Cecilia Puello, Ecuadorian mother of a 16-year-old teenager, who already qualifies to receive the dose against the coronavirus, also joined the voices of opposition against vaccines and jokingly and seriously, said that at home the only one who gave the injection her husband, because they wanted to try.
“I don’t want to get any vaccination and even less do I let my daughter get it, because It seems to me that it is an experiment that they are doing And I do not like that. That is why in my house that we pushed to get vaccinated it was my husband, because if something happens to him, you don’t lose much, ”said the woman with a laugh, giving an inaccurate explanation about vaccines. “No, seriously speaking, I think that if the children are fine, why give them a disease, because the vaccine they give you is the disease itself.”
Some parents are in favor
But not everyone is opposed to children over 12 years old being able to access the COVID vaccine. And making the line at the mobile clinic to get the first dose of immunization, Maria Perez, accompanied by her husband and daughter, supported the importance of getting more people vaccinated.
“I think there are a lot of myths about vaccines and I don’t see why we are going to be afraid of it. I think that as parents what we have to fear is that we do not give them the protection that children and we deserve to be able to be calmer and to be able to return to what was before ”, said the young mother.
And trying to reinforce the message from different fronts, both at the federal, state, municipal level and even with the support of community organizations, to put the virus that turned life upside down in the Big Apple, the City Health Department (DOHMH) continues with several campaigns to educate and inform in Spanish about the importance of vaccines.
This was revealed Pedro Frisneda, spokesperson for DOHMH, who explained that currently in New York City only Pfizer is authorized to vaccinate people over 16 years of age, as Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are only authorized to vaccinate people over 18 years of age.
“We recently launched several campaigns to provide more information and answer frequently asked questions from New Yorkers,” the spokesperson said, referring to initiatives such as ‘You’re right, you should know’, which provides answers to the most frequently asked questions among New Yorkers about concerns such as: How could vaccines be developed so quickly? How do we know that vaccines are safe? What can you expect when you receive a vaccine? and How do I sign up for a vaccination?
In addition, Frisneda stressed that there are other campaigns that seek to motivate for more Hispanics to get vaccinated, like the campaign ‘Vaccine for everyone: it’s your turn’, which promotes general eligibility and vaccine availability for all New Yorkers age 16 and older, ‘Why did I get vaccinated?, a television commercial and a radio ad sharing personal stories that motivate others to get vaccinated, and recently the Latino campaign ‘Get vaccinated for…’.
They educate about the importance of vaccines
The City Department of Education (DOE) was also in favor of reaching more families with the message of the importance of vaccines and assured that they will work together when immunization for children from 12 years of age is approved.
“As always, we will work closely with our partners in the Department of Health and other City agencies to ensure our school communities are safe and are aware of the resources available to them ”, assured Katie O’Hanlon, DOE spokeswoman. “We encourage all eligible students, staff and families to join the millions of New Yorkers who have been vaccinated and help lead the return of our city.”
It should be noted that despite the call to get vaccinated, the choice to do so remains up to each student and their parents and there is no imposition or requirement in city schools.
Vaccination in NY in data:
- 15.7% of Latinos in New York have been vaccinated.
- 16,395,758 doses of the different vaccines have been applied so far.
- 1,006,232 doses of vaccines were administered in the last 7 days.
- 47.7% of New Yorkers already have a dose of the vaccine.
- 7,489,615 are fully vaccinated
- 37.5% of New Yorkers are fully vaccinated.
- 4,351,533 city dwellers have at least one dose of the vaccine.
- 3,363,631 of the residents of the five counties have been fully vaccinated.
- 134,912 children under 18 years of age have received at least one dose of the vaccine
- 59,011 minors are fully immunized
To make an appointment to get vaccinated
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