Getting our Caregiving Communities Vaccinated
Since the vaccines have been approved and made available, they have been made more accessible to wealthy white communities than communities of color. While we are happy to see the vaccine becoming more widely available, we must continue to prioritize providing the vaccine to the communities that have been the most adversely affected by the virus. In Los Angeles, Latinx and Black residents of Los Angeles County are twice as likely as white residents to die from COVID-19 and high-poverty neighborhoods in Los Angeles County have the highest rates of COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 related deaths.
As a union, 400,000 members strong, we are working tirelessly to deliver the vaccine to our members and the communities they serve. In February, we launched the “We Can Do It!” campaign which aims to promote mass vaccination by sharing fact-based information and helping our members and their clients access the vaccine. The campaign evokes the image of a modern Rosie the Riveter, in our case, Carmen the Caregiver, to promote vaccination and the defeat of Covid-19.
Last week, as part of our campaign we launched a partnership with St. John’s Well Child and Family Center and the Weingart Foundation to help deliver the vaccine to communities of color in Los Angeles. Through the partnership, we will deliver 60,000 vaccines per week to the communities that need it most. This will be made possible by utilizing St John’s network of 19 federally qualified health centers located throughout South Los Angeles and Compton, including mobile centers that can travel directly into the communities.
Even with the increased vaccine availability, we must dispel vaccine skepticism and misinformation that has spread rampantly throughout our communities — which have historically been targeted by a medical system rooted in racism. Through the partnership, our members and leaders will reach out to fellow union members and members of the community to share information about the vaccine and its safety and efficacy and to help schedule vaccination appointments.
We are excited to see that the Biden Administration is putting its weight behind the vaccines with a $10 billion investment in distribution. The Administration has guaranteed that all Americans will be eligible for the vaccine by April 19 and a vaccination site will be available within 5-miles of 90% American by April 9. These are essential investments that must be made so that state and local governments have the resources available to distribute the vaccine. In addition to the support of the federal government, we need grassroots organizing from communities to instill trust in the vaccine.
Our members have faced the worst of the pandemic. We have been fighting this virus and will continue to fight so that we are never faced with a crisis of this magnitude and are never left so vulnerable again.
