Photo: Jacqueline García / Impremedia
On Thursday morning dozens of people waited in line to get tested for covid – 17 or to receive your vaccination at a South Los Angeles clinic.
Among them was Mrs. Antonia Bernardo who arrived with her two children, Eric and Stephanie Genaro to get tested.
Bernardo said that his daughter Stephanie, who is in grade 8, is already vaccinated but his son Eric, who has 10 years and is in grade 6, You are not yet eligible for the vaccine.
“As soon as it is approved I will put it on,” said Bernardo.
The mother added that she too is inoculated and although there was fear initially to get the vaccine, they knew it was the right thing to do. He added that he would like to see more people vaccinated in order to end the spread of the virus.
To address these concerns, that same morning a group of state and local politicians, Representatives from South Los Angeles, gathered at the Kedren Health Clinic to announce a new two-month campaign that will try to attract the largest number of undecided people to get vaccinated.
Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer said that despite the fact that for months there has been advocacy for people to get vaccinated, in poorer neighborhoods like South Los Angeles, the message has not gotten through.
“That is why we are here because we care about the poorest, immigrants, the previously incarcerated and the elderly,” said Jones-Sawyer.
The Assemblyman added that while speaking with his political colleagues in South Los Angeles, it was concluded that public events are the best places to reach out to people and encourage them to get vaccinated .
” There are many public events where African Americans and Latinos come and they are all in a large area of 7, 000 to 10, 000 people Jones-Sawyer said. “If we add up all the different events like jazz and things that we normally have during the summer, we see that we can talk to thousands of people at the same time.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who represents South Los Angeles, said that while there is a 1.2 increase in vaccinations, communities of color have also been shown to be well below the vaccination level. .
He indicated that it is impressive to see that in South Los Angeles there are many people who continue to be reluctant to inoculation.
“I was deeply concerned when I heard yesterday some community leaders and outreach workers who said people were telling them not just to get out of their house, but to ‘get out of our neighborhood!’ ”
Mitchel said this is because many of these communities are not only hard to reach, but barely have received the slightest bit of information about vaccines.
“So we have to change that and find ways in which each member of the community can feel heard, respected and recognized, ”said Mitchell. “And when people in the community knock on the door, as we do during the census, to bring resources and information, it really is the best for everyone.”
The vaccine is the solution
Dr. Jerry Abraham, a family physician and epidemiologist at the Kedren Health Clinic, said more than 300, 000 vaccines in the clinic and you should not lower your guard.
“There is no moment to lose nor a drop of vaccine to waste, the variant Delta is real. We know that people are dying, people are suffering in the hospital when ventilators are put on them and that is preventable, ”said Dr. Abraham.
At his mobile clinic, he is one of Kedren’s doctors who has been visiting different areas of South Los Angeles such as parks, schools, recreation centers and anywhere that allows him to motivate people to be innocuous.
“These vaccines are our best tool, our best defense to protect ourselves from covid – 19 ”, indicated
Los Angeles County data show that the 94% of hospitalizations between May 1 and 17 July this year were people who were not fully vaccinated. Additionally, the 100% of deaths between April 1 and 21 July occurred among unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people.
Some events scheduled to reach people are the 21 August at the Long Beach Jazz Festival and the 28 August in Baldwin Hills. Additionally, the 19 August the first 200 People who come to Councilman Curren D. Price’s field office to get their vaccination will receive free Beats headphones.
South Los Angeles residents or workers interested in getting vaccinated can visit the Kedren Clinic located at 4122 S. Avalon Blvd in Los Angeles. You do not need an appointment to receive the vaccine.