Education and outreach work will address vaccine inequities and advance health equity
El Centro has been awarded $100,000 to fund outreach and education efforts focused specifically on building vaccine confidence among Latino adults. Made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in partnership with Community Catalyst, the project aims to increase understanding of and trust about COVID-19 and influenza vaccines among adults at highest risk of infection and death from these illnesses.
The initiative comes amid a concerning rise in cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant and significant disparities in vaccination rates in historically underserved communities of color.
“Since the start of the pandemic, El Centro has been working to educate and inform the Latino community we serve in Kansas City around COVID-19 prevention and testing. As vaccines became available, we began to assist the families we serve in registering for vaccines and hosted vaccine clinics to make access even more available.”, said Irene Caudillo, President and CEO.
Our ¡Vacúnate! project seeks to dispel those myths and misinformation around COVID and Flu vaccination among our Latino community, promote vaccine equity by reducing barriers Latinos face in accessing vaccines and provide direct access to both COVID and flu vaccines by hosting and facilitating vaccination clinics with community partners.
El Centro will work in collaboration with the health department of both Wyandotte and Johnson counties, local FQHC’s and Spanish language media.