Experts: COVID vaccine is not evil
What does the COVID-19 vaccine have to do with Satan? For some who believe in biblical prophecy — everything.
Fear of the COVID-19 vaccine has joined the ranks of bio-metric palm scanners and biometric digital photographs — used to authenticate a person's identity— among those
skeptics. The lifesaving vaccine is suspected of being the “mark of the beast” by some, just as biometric technology has come under similar suspicion for years.
Spanish-speaking community are currently centered around helping people navigate the state's portal for registration and appointments to get the vaccine.
There's a language barrier that is hindering some Latinos' efforts to get the vaccine.
Molly Fleming, t he citycounty health department's public information officer, and Ponce said the state's vaccine portal is only in English so Spanish-speaking community members are finding they need help navigating it.
Ponce said she is encouraging people to find a trusted family member or friend who speaks English to help them with registration. She said she is placing an emphasis on the person being someone they know well because they typically have to go back to the person for help in making their appointment through the portal.
“The community is struggling right now because the portal is in English,” she said.
Fleming said someone close to the individual has to be on the lookout for the email that shares information about available appointments.
Ponce, who is of Mexican descent, said the scheduling portal system has made things difficult for some Latinos.
“They are pretty much one hand in front and one hand in back. It's been complicated on top of the language barrier,” she said.
Fleming said the citycounty health department has Spanish-language graphics and aids to help guide people once they get to one of the department's vaccine venues. She said this helpful information is also posted on the department's Facebook page so people in the Spanishspeaking community may familiarize themselves with it beforehand.
“We're a trusted source in the community ,” Fleming said.
Ponce said besides help navigating the portal, another issue that has come up is fear of drawing attention to immigration status. She said some immigrants have expressed hesitancy about getting the COVID- 19 vaccine because they think this will garner unwanted attention to their immigration status. Ponce said she tells them that immigration status is not a factor in getting the vaccine and shouldn't deter them from obtaining the life-saving medical help.
Fleming said Ponce and several other Latinos have helped translate the health department' s town hall son the vaccine. The Latino outreach team has also been spreading the word about the vaccine on the Spanish language television network Telemundo and in Spanish-speaking newspapers.
“We' re trying to get the safety of the vaccine message out,” Fleming said.