Due to the rapid spread of the Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus combined with lagging vaccination rates among Hispanics and Blacks throughout Greater Hartford, the Hispanic Health Council (HHC) has initiated a major campaign designed to boost vaccination within these vulnerable populations.
The campaign began earlier this summer with the hire of several Community Health Workers who regularly attend events and canvas the community. To date, over 70 events have resulted in nearly 1,000 vaccinations. Additionally, HHC launched a bilingual hotline and bilingual vaccination information on their website.
The campaign went into high gear recently at a press conference attended by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.
The expanded campaign includes more events, direct mail, social media, and partnerships with local media and organizations including Hartford Knights, Bomba Radio, Northend Agent’s and others. Well known personalities have also signed on to support the campaign, including host of El Show de Analeh Ana Alfaro, ESPN host Renato Bermudez and Colombian singer and Grammy Award winner Camilo Echeverry. Communications are aimed at providing facts on the vaccine’s efficacy and safety, while dispelling common myths, such as the need to verify residency.
“While Connecticut is one of the top states in the country for vaccination rates, our black and brown communities continue to lag behind,” said Kenneth Barela, CEO of the Hispanic Health Council. “We’re doubling down. This is one of the largest efforts of its kind in Connecticut specifically targeted to vulnerable communities. We used publicly available vaccination information by census track and overlayed that with census data to pinpoint who we need to communicate with, and the messages we need to convey.”
For more information about the campaign, visit www.hispanichealthcouncil.org/myvaccine, or call HHC’s hotline at (475) 221-4493, Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm.
About the Hispanic Health Council
The Hispanic Health Council is a nationally recognized, statewide community-based organization, whose mission is to improve the health and social well-being of Latinos and other diverse communities. We achieve our mission through four core pillars: community-based participatory research, evidence-based direct services, provider training, and system and policy advocacy. Over multiple decades we have established a deep relationship of trust and respect with the communities we serve through our commitment to social justice. These pillars and values uniquely position us to impact social determinants of health at individual and community levels, and to influence inequitable systems and policies that impede the ability of diverse populations to achieve optimal health and well-being.
