The Latino community has disproportionately felt the burden of COVID-19. COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have been higher for Latinos than other groups. “The pandemic has disproportionately hit Latinos throughout the country, who are already at a disadvantage as they are likely to work in front-line jobs and have the highest uninsured rates,” writes Cynthia Silva, according to NBC News. As more Latinos have been hospitalized, healthcare providers have noticed the need for Latino nurses who can provide culturally competent, bilingual services. Unfortunately, less than 6% of nurses are Latino, mostly due to systemic barriers that prevent Latino students from pursuing a career in nursing. Let’s explore the importance of culturally competent healthcare and ...
Luz Garcini wants to help Latinos heal from the loss of a loved one. “One of the biggest needs that we see in the community right now is that there has been a lot of loss and grief, particularly associated to the loss of loved ones over the current [COVID-19] pandemic, that has not been addressed,” Garcini said. Garcini is a clinical psychologist and epidemiologist. She works as an assistant professor at the Center for Research to Advance Community Health (ReACH) at UT Health San Antonio. To further the study of loss and grief among Latino immigrants, Garcini and her team at ReACH created a monthly webinar series, “Paths: Building Strength in the Face of Loss,” to help Latinos understand grief and build coping skills and strength. She hopes the series will help Latinos ...
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, states have struggled with what to do when it comes to schools and online learning. In the beginning of the pandemic when not as much was known about the virus, schools were shut down and students were sent home to do virtual learning. But this brought up issues of internet accessibility for rural, low-income families, along with difficulties for parents who suddenly needed to work and provide childcare during the day. As COVID-19 vaccinations have grown and cases are slowly decreasing, many administrators are figuring out what school will look like this fall. “We have to be able to pivot,” said Kaweeda Adams, a superintendent in Albany, NY, according to the Washington Post. Let’s take a look at how safe schools are, what Latino ...
Latinos are getting vaccinated for the COVID-19 vaccine at much lower rates. Why is this? How can we build vaccine confidence? Dr. Amelie Ramirez and her team at Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio are working hard to promote vaccine confidence and answer Latinos' big questions about the vaccine. Ramirez is doing this in a variety of ways: Creating the Salud America! Latino COVID-19 Vaccine “Change of Heart” Bilingual Storytelling Campaign to share real Latinos who moved from vaccine hesitancy to vaccine confidence.
Producing Salud America!'s weekly updated post on U.S. Latino vaccination rates, ways to improve confidence, and how to overcome vaccine misinformation.
Joining the Latino USA podcast to answer Latinos' COVID-19 vaccine questions.
Providing a ...
You've probably seen or heard this phrase a lot recently: "We can do this." That's the slogan for the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' "We Can Do This" / "Juntos Sí Podemos" COVID-19 Public Education Campaign. This national initiative aims to increase public confidence in uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and other basic prevention measures, such as mask wearing and social distancing. The "We Can Do This" campaign materials are in English, Spanish, and more. The campaign also has a "live" event series that pairs medical experts with prominent influencers to share information to help people feel confident about getting the vaccine. The events occur in the places where people already consume content, including social media, podcasts, and YouTube. The effort is ...
Helen Cordova knows how dangerous COVID-19 is. She’s been working on the frontline as an ICU nurse throughout the entire pandemic. “COVID was definitely a big shock for the healthcare community. There was just so much uncertainty and things we didn't know about it,” Cordova said. When the vaccine was first authorized for emergency use by the FDA in December 2020, Cordova was chosen to be one of the first recipients of the vaccine. But she was very nervous and didn’t originally want to get it. “Initially, I was absolutely not going to get the vaccine. I thought, ‘It was rushed, I won't trust it,’” Cordova said. But after consulting with her colleagues and reading the research from the clinical trials, Cordova knew it was safe and the right ...
After spending most of the last year indoors, Latinos and all Americans are ready to experience the world around us, again — including spending much-needed time outdoors. Not only is the prospect of walking on trails, hiking, camping, and other recreational activities exciting, it will lead to better health outcomes. People’s access to places such as parks, trails, as well as other green spaces is correlated to increased levels of physical activity and other positive health effects, according to new research from Stanford University. “Nature experience boosts memory, attention and creativity as well as happiness, social engagement and a sense of meaning in life,” said Gretchen Daily, senior author on the paper and faculty director of the Stanford Natural Capital Project. ...
Good news! Children ages 12 to 15 can now get a COVID-19 vaccine! On May 10, 2021, the FDA authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for children ages 12 to 15. It had previously been approved for those ages 16 and older. This next step in reaching herd immunity is crucial. Not only does it expand the pool of eligible vaccine recipients to 87% of the U.S. population, but it also allows teens who have missed out on school, sports, prom, and other aspects of life to return to normal. Do you have questions about the Pfizer vaccine and want to know more before your children get vaccinated? Here’s what Latino parents should know. UPDATE: Information about how teenagers can get the vaccine without needing parental consent in some states.
About the ...
The San Antonio COVID-19 Community Response & Equity Coalition (CREC) is hosting a Virtual Community Forum on Sunday, June 6, 2021, to discuss the impact of the pandemic on residents and families in the city and how to respond. The forum will seek local feedback on nine different policy priorities generated by a subgroup of the coalition, the Policy and Advocacy Workgroup. Then the group will finalize the policy priorities and share with the city of San Antonio (63% Latino). Click here to register for the CREC forum!
What is the San Antonio CREC?
In response to the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on San Antonio, and Latinos in particular, several organizations have come together to form the Community Response & Equity Coalition (CREC). The coalition ...