By Leah Chiappino
Organización Latino Americana received nearly $100,000 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fund vaccine outreach to Latinx communities on Long Island.
The campaign aims to address the concerns people have about the vaccine, and expand access on the East End. Minerva Perez is executive director of the immigrant advocacy organization.
"What we've seen is that it's less about hesitancy, or any of those terms than it is about access. And from the beginning, it was language access, it was transportation access, it was fear around what kind of ID am I supposed to present," Perez said.
Perez said those concerns have been addressed by working with healthcare providers to provide outreach.
She said the campaign aims to address concerns about the vaccine, particularly among pregnant women and parents of teenagers.
"These unknowns are scary. The problem is that some of the unknowns around this particular virus are also scary. And what we're hearing from all the doctors that we work with is that it's a much better bet, and the better decision to get this vaccine," Perez said.
Perez said social media, radio and TV ads will give information without pressuring them or shaming people. The campaign runs through next April.
The organization is also looking to provide outreach to African American and indigenous communities and plans to host more pop-up vaccinations at worksites and food pantries.