Clinic in Latino region receives 100 vaccines for 12,000 patients

Miguel Angel Murcia said he would just have been vaccinated against COVID-19 at the mass vaccination site at Dodger Stadium.

But the 75-year-old doesn’t drive. He has no family nearby. And he doesn’t have internet access.

Instead, Murcia has relied on persistence – repeatedly phoning the staff at Clínica Monseñor Romero in Boyle Heights where he has been a patient for over a decade.

“When will you have the vaccine available?” He asked.

On Saturday, the Murcia stage paid off. He became the third person to be vaccinated during the clinic’s first vaccination campaign. The community clinic provides health services in Boyle Heights and Pico-Union, serving the communities that are at the epicenter of the pandemic – primarily Latinos and Spanish-speaking indigenous people in Mexico and Central America.

After weeks of waiting, the clinic received a shipment of Moderna vaccine from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health last month – 100 injections for the clinic’s 12,000 patients. For this reason, those eligible to receive the vaccines on Saturday were limited to those 75 and older.

But with COVID-19 vaccines in short supply, the decision to prioritize vaccinations is becoming an increasingly difficult question, especially in communities hardest hit by the pandemic.

“How is 100 going to care for the 12,000 patients and the surrounding community of a million people?” asked Dr Don Garcia, the clinic’s medical director. “It’s embarassing.”

In California, Latino residents have been disproportionately affected by the virus. Latinos make up about 40% of the state’s population, but account for 55% of its COVID cases and 46% of its deaths from the novel coronavirus.

The number of LA County Latino residents who die each day from COVID-19 – on average, over a two-week period – has skyrocketed: 40 deaths per 100,000 Latino residents. That’s almost triple that of white residents, a segment of the population that averages 14 deaths per 100,000 population.

Clínica Romero has two sites, one in Boyle Heights and the other in the MacArthur Park area, where most of the clinic’s patients are Latin American and immigrant families – many of whom do not have legal status and work in the service sector.

As of March, the positivity rate at Boyle Heights Clinic has been consistently 40%. That’s more than triple the average seven-day test positivity rate for LA County, which was 9.99% as of Saturday morning.

The clinic has performed around 2,500 COVID-19 tests.

“We are in the eye of the storm,” García said. “But no one reaches out and responds to my cries of passion and frustration.”

A Department of Public Health official did not respond to questions specific to Clínica Romero, but instead forwarded a Los Angeles Times article about the limited vaccine supply.

Carlos Vaquerano, executive director of the clinic, said he was happy to receive the 100 doses of vaccine and understands the shortages. Still, he said the deployment and distribution of vaccines has not been fair.

“It’s a matter of fair distribution,” he said. “We serve the most affected community in Los Angeles. These are essential workers who fall ill and die at a higher rate than anyone in the county. “

Vaquerano said patients at the clinic have a lot of challenges and don’t know how to navigate the process of getting vaccinated through a mega-center.

“These are the people the clinic has served for a long time and they are counting on us to provide them with a vaccine,” he said. “We have a long-term relationship with our patients. They trust us. They feel more comfortable going to a community center than going to a mega-center. Mega sites are not intended for our community. “

A large portion of the population served by the clinic is more likely to use public transportation or live in tight spaces where physical distance is difficult. Like Murcia, many do not have internet access, which is necessary to book most of the appointments available at mega vaccination sites.

“Asking people in our communities to go to mega-centers to get vaccinated is like saying that you come to us to have the water put out the fire when the right thing to do is bring the ‘water to fire,’ García said. “There is something upside down here.”

On Saturday, elderly Latinos with walkers and wheelchairs lined up in front of Clínica Romero, which was founded in 1983 by Salvadoran refugees. Some came alone. Others were accompanied by sons or daughters.

Ana Canales, a 78-year-old immigrant from El Salvador, was helped by her daughter. The mother and daughter do not have a car, so they took a taxi to the clinic and were the first to stand in line. Canales was the first to get the vaccine.

“There are so many people waiting. Thank you god I was able to get it, ”Canales said. “I am so proud to have been the first. Hope this will give others the strength to get it too. “

Times photographer Genaro Molina contributed to this report.