Eyewitness News anchor Mayra Moreno hosted the first of a two-night town hall event on Wednesday, focusing on the reluctance of our most disadvantaged communities to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC says black and Latino Americans are nearly three times more likely to die from COVID-19 complications than Caucasians.
“Eighty percent of the patients I have in my COVID unit are of Hispanic or Latino descent,” says Dr. Joseph Varon, chief medical officer at United Memorial Medical Center. ‘Everyone went to their abuelas (grandmother) for Christmas. All of them.’
VACCINE TRACKER: Keep track of the availability and progress of the COVID-19 vaccine in Houston
Varon said he is deeply troubled by recent videos of large gatherings in bars and clubs and the continued resistance to wearing masks. But even more worrisome, he said, is that people are not getting early medical attention or planning to get the vaccine.
‘When they come to me with two and a half weeks of symptoms, shortness of breath, fever, I say,’ why didn’t you come early? Varon said. “There are three common responses: When I go to the hospital, I get COVID. When I go to the hospital, I die. Pretty soon, number three, why am I going to the hospital? It’s going to cost me a lot of money. “
Varon said when it comes to the vaccine and COVID-19 testing, many people are unaware that the federal government is paying the bill.
“We come from a culture where we don’t usually like to ask for help,” said Dr. Laura Murillo, president of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “I can’t begin to tell you how many conversations I’ve personally had to convince people to pay attention to the facts, the science.”
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Murillo said that while officials are working to make vaccinations more accessible, the Hispanic community needs to monitor their behavior to curb hospital admissions, especially for our elderly and high-risk population.
“We come from houses where it’s a multi-generational household. Even if the grandmother stays at home, you have people going in and out of that house,” Murillo said. “Yes, we want our community to get going again, small businesses of course, but you pay with your life or that of a loved one if we don’t take this seriously.”
State Representative Armando Walle, who serves as Harris County’s COVID-19 recovery czar, acknowledged residents’ frustration at the slow pace of vaccine distribution, but promised that “aid is on the way.”
After weeks of complaints and confusion about getting vaccine appointments, the city of Houston opened its first drive-thru vaccination site Monday at the Del Mar Stadium. On Tuesday, Harris County has opened registration for the vaccine waiting list.
“We apologize for the frustration,” said Walle. “I have a 90-year-old grandfather. I have a mother with pre-existing conditions, so this is personal to all of us.”
Walle said that while the county waits for the full force of President Joe Biden’s distribution plan, everyone has a role to play in reducing the contamination rate.
“I know we have COVID fatigue,” Walle said. ‘We’re in control. We have agency. We can wear a mask, right? We can limit the carne asadas, we can wash our hands. ‘
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and other panelists encouraged leaders from Austin to Houston to think of creative ways to reach our Spanish neighborhoods, from going door-to-door to register those who can’t get online for vaccinations, to expanding drive-thru vaccination sites.
“Maybe I’ll get in a van with my little ice box and give the vaccines to the people in their house,” Varon said. “If we don’t reach a large number of people to get vaccinated, we’ll have more medical problems, we’ll have more unusual strains of the virus, and people will die in spite of the vaccine.”
Eyewitness News anchor Chauncy Glover will organize the second evening of Action 13 “COVID-19 Vaccine & Our Communities of Color” on Thursday at 7 pm. The Town Hall is being co-produced with Xi Kappa Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., of Missouri City.
Thursday night’s town hall panel includes:
- State Representative Ron Reynolds, Texas House District 27
- Commissioner Grady Prestage, Fort Bend Co. District 2
- Dr. Jacquelyn Johnson Minter, Health & Human Services Director of Fort Bend Co.
- Trustee Addie Heyliger, Chairman of the Fort Bend ISD Board of Directors
- Pastor Timothy Sloan, The Luke Church
- Casondra Burkley, LCSW, M. Div
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