Vaccine Hesitancy Still A Problem In The Latino Community

By Consumers for Quality Care, on May 12, 2021

Pittsburgh’s Latino Community Center is strengthening its efforts to promote COVID-19 vaccines by raising awareness about their benefits.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in Pennsylvania reports that the downtown-based LCC is using a recent grant from the CDC Foundation and the National Hockey League to build a vaccine readiness program in Latino communities. Rosamaria Cristello, LCC’s executive director and founder, says that she sees a lot of hesitancy about getting vaccinated:

“From what have seen here, Latinos are hesitant because there is not enough information in Spanish and/or their native language about the vaccine, and the information that is available is not getting to them in the frequency and in the format that is best received by our community. From my experience, it takes multiple conversations to get to a place where families feel like they understand and feel comfortable getting the vaccine.”

An early survey conducted by the LCC and the North Side Christian Health Center found that of 43 Latino respondents, 29 percent were “not interested at all” in a vaccine.

The LCC hired five “vaccine champions” to reach out to people in the community and help them sign up for appointments. Along with the Allegheny Health Network, the LCC aims to provide 400 Latino families in the region with helpful information about vaccinations.