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Raleigh clinic working to get the LatinX community vaccinated for COVID-19

At the beginning of the pandemic the LatinX community was struggling when it came to positive COVID-19 cases. That's why El Centro Hispano in Raleigh has been vaccinating people 65 and older at its vaccination clinic.

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By
Leslie Moreno
, WRAL multimedia journalist
RALEIGH, N.C. — At the beginning of the pandemic the LatinX community was struggling when it came to positive COVID-19 cases. That’s why El Centro Hispano, in Raleigh, has been vaccinating people 65 and older at its vaccination clinic.

"We don’t want to see that number, or that’s similar situation, happen where Latinos are the ones with the least amount of vaccinations and the number of infections continue to erupt," said Eliazar Posada, the acting president and CEO of El Centro Hispano.According to the Census Bureau, Hispanics make up 10.4 percent of Wake County's population, but only 3.2 percent of people who have received the vaccine in the county are Hispanic.Posada said El Centro Hispano's vaccination clinic can make the vaccine much more accessible for those in the LatinX community."The common question is, 'I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what information is going to be asked and when I called they had someone in English and I couldn’t get any information,'" he said.

Posada added that there’s a lot of hesitancy when it comes to LatinXs getting the vaccine, mainly because they fear their citizenship status will be questioned.

"We are only going to be asking for a name, address and contact number so we know where to reach you for your second dose," he explained.

Doris Calderon said she's nervous about getting the vaccine because of all the misinformation. She added that the felt comfortable at the El Centro Hispano clinic because it's in a language she can understand.

Posada added that the language and the technology barrier continues to be a problem.

"Not only do they to go to a website and sign up, sometimes, it's a little bit difficult to manage that, specifically what is in Spanish or they don't know how to access it in Spanish," he said. "We've also seen multiple links to sign-up sheets, and I manage technology very well and it's confusing for me. Now, translate that to people who have not been growing up with technology -- I know that's been another issue."

Posada added that El Centro Hispano had a similar pop-up vaccination event in Durham at the beginning of February and the organization is hoping to have more in the upcoming weeks.

To set up at appointment at the vaccination clinic, call 919-283-9108.

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