Local Agencies Work To Lower Vaccine Hesitation In Latino Community

The Oklahoma City based Latino Community Development Agency is a middleman for vaccine distribution within the Latino community.

The group has pivoted away from the Janssen vaccine.

“We were able to move from Johnson and Johnson to Moderna so we did call everyone to let them know ‘Hey it isn’t the one and done like we told you it would be, but we are going to offer Moderna,’” said Yuliana Reyes the Latino Agency Director of Health.

The agency has a vaccine clinic scheduled for Thursday, thankfully all 300 appointments agreed to take the Moderna shot instead.

“Especially sometimes dealing with a government organization people are sometimes hesitant to approach us. So, we reverse it, and we are going out to them letting them know that we are truly concerned for them and getting to know their community,” said Alfredo Melchor, the OCCHD Communications Coordinator.

The Oklahoma City-County Health Department said it has worked harder to build a strong partnership with leaders.

“Those are people that have contact with them on a regular basis. A lot of that has been reaching out to local employers and talking to them about the importance of making things safe for the employee,” said Melchor.

The Latino Agency Director of Health is using the suspension of the Johnson and Johnson as a learning opportunity.

“Tell them ‘Hey, it is not like our countries where we get vaccines from who knows who and every vaccine is administered even if there are adverse effects, here six adverse effects and they stopped it immediately,” she said.