Eyewitness News anchor Mayra Moreno hosted the first of a two-night event at City Hall on Wednesday, focusing on the hesitation of our most needy communities to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC says that blacks and Latino Americans are almost three times more likely to die of complications from COVID-19 than whites.
“Eighty percent of the patients I have in my COVID unit are Hispanic or Latino,” said Dr. Joseph Varon, medical director at United Memorial Medical Center. “Everyone went to see their abuelas (grandmother) at Christmas. Each of them.”
VACCINE TRACKER: Track the availability and progress of the COVID-19 vaccine in Houston
Varon said he is deeply concerned about the recent videos of large meetings in bars and clubs and the continued resistance to wearing masks. But even more worrying, he said, is that people do not receive early medical attention or plan 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?’” Said Varon. “There are three usual answers: If I go to the hospital, I will get COVID. If I go to the hospital, I will die. Soon, number three, why am I going to the hospital, it will cost me a lot of money. “
Varon said that when it comes to the vaccine and COVID-19 tests, many people are unaware that the federal government is paying the bill.
“We came from a culture where we don’t normally like to ask for help,” said Dr. Laura Murillo, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Houston. “I can’t begin to say how many conversations I have had personally trying to convince people to pay attention to the facts, to the science.”
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Murillo said that as officials work to make vaccines more accessible, the Hispanic community needs to police their behavior to curb hospitalizations, especially for our elderly and high-risk population.
“We come from homes where there is a multigenerational family. Even if the grandmother stays at home, you have people coming in and out of this house, ”said Murillo. “Yes, we want our community to function again, small businesses, of course, but you will pay with your life or the life of a loved one if we don’t take it seriously.”
State Representative Armando Walle, who serves as Harris County COVID-19 recovery czar, acknowledged residents’ frustration with the slow pace of vaccine distribution, but promised that “help 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 Estádio Del Mar. On Tuesday, Harris County opened registration for its vaccine waiting list.
“We apologize for the frustration,” said Walle. “I have a 90-year-old grandfather. I have a mother who has pre-existing illnesses, so this is personal to all of us.”
Walle said that while the county awaits the start of President Joe Biden’s distribution plan, everyone has a role to play in reducing the rate of infection.
“I know we have COVID fatigue,” said Walle. “We have control. We have discretion. We can use a mask, right? We can limit the carne asadas, we can wash our hands.”
Harris County sheriff Ed Gonzalez and other speakers encouraged leaders from Austin to Houston to consider creative ways to reach our Hispanic neighborhoods, from going door to door to register those unable to connect online to vaccinate to expand their drive-thru vaccination sites.
“Maybe go in a van with my little ice box and give vaccinations to people in their homes,” said Varon. “If we don’t reach a large number of people to be vaccinated, we will have more medical problems, we will have more unusual strains of the virus and we will have people dying in spite of the vaccine.”
Eyewitness News anchor Chauncy Glover will present the second night of Action 13 “COVID-19 Vaccine and Our Communities of Color” on Thursday at 7pm. The city is being co-produced with Xi Kappa Lambda Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Missouri.
The Thursday night city hall panel includes:
- State Representative Ron Reynolds, Texas House, District 27
- Commissioner Grady Prestage, Fort Bend Co. Police Station 2
- Dr. Jacquelyn Johnson Minter, Director of Health and Human Services at Fort Bend Co.
- Curator Addie Heyliger, Fort Bend ISD Chairman
- Pastor Timothy Sloan, The Luke Church
- Casondra Burkley, LCSW, M.Div
Watch live news and detailed reports from ABC13 on your favorite streaming devices like Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and AndroidTV. Just search for “ABC13 Houston”.
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