Immunization gap among Hispanic communities reflects barriers to access

Hispanics across the United States continue to be particularly under-represented among those vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a New York Times analysis of state-reported race and ethnicity information. The Hispanic share of the vaccinated population is lower than the general Hispanic population in all states with large Hispanic communities.

Barriers to vaccine access faced in many Hispanic communities – along with the structural limitations communities of color typically face – stand in the way of higher vaccination rates, even as the vaccine becomes more widely available, according to reports. public health experts and community health organizers.

Access to the digital tools needed to secure a date, for example, is limited, especially among older people and living in immigrant communities.

“Our people don’t have emails, they don’t have computers at home,” said James Rudyk, executive director of Northwest Side Housing Center in Chicago, which runs immunization clinics in Belmont Cragin, a neighborhood predominantly Hispanic. “They have smartphones, but they don’t navigate the registration systems that want you to fill out pages and pages of information.”

And often, information on vaccine eligibility and registration is readily available only in English.

“People didn’t even know there was a vaccine when we talked to them,” said Gilda Pedraza, executive director of the Latino Community Fund in Atlanta, which called hundreds of Hispanic seniors in late February to set up a clinic. vaccination. before the state health department released eligibility information in Spanish.

Counties across the United States with a large Hispanic population are more likely to face technology and language barriers, as well as financial barriers to pursuing health care, and are less likely to have insurance.

The organizers of the immunization clinics also report that Hispanic members of their communities, many of whom are uninsured, are unaware that the vaccine is free for all and have expressed concerns about its cost. Some, especially essential workers with little or no free time, say they can’t miss work to get the vaccine or can’t afford to miss a day if they have side effects from the vaccine.

And while the Biden administration has said getting the vaccine will not affect a person’s immigration status, community health workers say it remains a major concern for immigrant families.

“Yesterday I got two calls from people who are trying to regularize their situation, and they were saying, ‘We would rather not have our vaccine because if they find out that we have received it and it affects our immigration process? ”Ms. Pedraza said. “And I said, ‘You might not live to see your immigration process if you don’t get your vaccine.'”

A trusted healthcare provider who shares vaccine information can alleviate some of these barriers, according to public health experts. But Hispanics are less likely to have an existing relationship with a health care provider. And counties with large Hispanic populations are less likely to have reliable or regular access to health care.

Community health advocates who live and work in the neighborhoods they help immunize take part of this responsibility and share essential information about the vaccine.

“We had an almost 20 percent no-show rate initially for our first day of second dose and we reduced it to less than 2 percent with phone calls,” Rudyk said. “A lot of people thought that one dose was enough.”

And although concerns about vaccine safety often arise, advocates say talking about these fears, even if it takes time, helps people decide whether to get vaccinated.

“Seeing people like you, talking like you, is essential,” said Pedraza. “This is what changes behavior.”

States that partner with community organizations administer the vaccine more equitably than others, said Rita Carreón, vice president of health at UnidosUS, a civil rights organization for Hispanic communities.

In the states included in the Times analysis, the gap between the Hispanic share of the general population and the vaccinated population has narrowed slightly since the start of the month. Expanding vaccine eligibility in some states may help close the gap, but public health experts say barriers to access still play a disproportionate role in the disparity.

The federal government’s efforts to close the immunization gap for American Hispanics through community health centers, although small in size, are having some success. While the Hispanic share of the U.S. population is around 18%, Hispanics made up more than a quarter of those nationwide who received their first dose at a community health center, according to an analysis of federal data by the Kaiser. Family Foundation.