Eye News Anchor Mayra Moreno hosted the first two-night town hall event on Wednesday, focusing on the hesitation of our least-served communities to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC says black and Latin Americans are nearly three times more likely to die from COVID-19 complications than whites.
“Eighty percent of the patients I have in my COVID unit are Hispanic or Latino,” said Dr. Joseph Varon, chief medical officer at United Memorial Medical Center. “Everyone went to see their grandmothers (grandma) for Christmas. Each of them.”
TRACKER VACCINE: Track the availability and progress of the COVID-19 vaccine in Houston
Varon said he is deeply troubled by recent videos from big meetings at bars and clubs and his continued resistance to wearing masks. But even more worrying, he said, is that people do not receive early medical care or do not intend to receive the vaccine.
“When they come to me with two and a half weeks of symptoms, shortness of breath, fever, I say to myself” why didn’t you come early? Varon said. “There are three common answers: if I go to the hospital, I’ll get COVID. If I go to the hospital, I’ll die. Pretty soon, number three, why I’m going to the hospital, will cost me a lot of money.”
Varon said that when it comes to the vaccine and COVID-19 testing, many people are unaware that the federal government supports the bill.
“We come from a culture where we usually don’t 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 had personally trying to persuade 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 control its behaviors to reduce hospitalizations, especially for the elderly and the high-risk population.
“We come from homes where there is a multi-generational household. Even if Grandma stays home, you have people coming in and out of that house,” Murillo said. “Yes, we want to make our community safe, small businesses, of course, but you will pay with your life or that of a loved one if we do not take this seriously.”
State Representative Armando Walle, who serves as COVID-19 recovery tsar in Harris County, acknowledged the frustration of residents with the slow pace of vaccine distribution, but promised that “help is on the way.”
After weeks of complaints and confusion about getting vaccine schedules, Houston has opened its first self-vaccination site Monday at Del Mar Stadium. Tuesday, Harris County has opened registration for the vaccine waiting list.
“We apologize for the frustration,” Walle said. “I have a 90-year-old grandfather. I have a mother who has pre-existing conditions, so it’s personal for all of us.”
Walle said that while the county is waiting for the full force of President Joe Biden’s distribution plan to begin, everyone has a role to play in reducing the infection rate.
“I know we’re tired of COVID,” Walle said. “We have control. We have agency. We can wear a mask, right? We can limit the asadas meat, we can wash our hands.”
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez of Harris County and other panel members encouraged leaders from Austin to Houston to consider creative ways to get to our Hispanic neighborhoods, from door-to-door to register those who can’t receive. online for vaccinations, until the expansion of drive-thru inoculation sites. .
“I can go to a van with my little ice and give the vaccines to people at home,” Varon said. “If we do not reach a large number of people to be vaccinated, then we will receive more problems from a medical point of view, we will have more unusual strains of the virus and we will have people who die in spite of the vaccine. “
The Chauncy Glover Eye News Announcement will host the second night of Action 13 “COVID-19 Vaccine and Our Colored Communities” on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. City Hall is co-produced with Xi Kappa Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Missouri City.
Thursday night’s town hall panel includes:
- Rep. State Ron Reynolds, Texas House District 27
- Commissioner Grady Prestage, Fort Bend Co. Section 2
- Dr. Jacquelyn Johnson Minter, director of Fort Bend Co. Health & Human Services
- Administrator Addie Heyliger, chairman of Fort Bend ISD
- Pastor Timothy Sloan, Luke Church
- Casondra Burkley, LCSW, M.Div
Watch live news and detailed reports from ABC13 on your favorite streaming devices, such as Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and AndroidTV. Just search for “ABC13 Houston”.
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