Why Every Latina Needs To Get The Covid-19 Vaccine
Just typing that title gave me anxiety; spoiler alert: a lot of things give me anxiety these days. Maybe it triggers something in you too? Trigger warning: I will be discussing, mental health, death, politics, and trauma. I need to begin by saying, I am not a medical professional and you should self-inform and consult your physician when applicable before making any decisions about your own health and safety.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’m here to persuade the skeptics and hopefully comfort those waiting and ready for their vaccine! Why? Because the Latinx community is dying at rapid rates and I for one do not need an invitation to be a leader for those who are feeling lost and hopeless in this trying time.
According to the CDC, As of February 17, 2021 83,796 Latinos have died due to COVID-19. If you’re looking for more stats and facts I encourage you to take a deeper dive and read this article from salud-america.org and to forward it on to others who are motivated by the numbers!
Let me be very clear, every race, every gender, every human is at-risk to catching the virus until we are all vaccinated. The virus is not racist, but it will also not hesitate to attack the most vulnerable of us. Now, I recognize that we as a collective are still in shock and our fight or flight response is in full-gear. So of course it is only natural to question everything right now. However, I also know that we are rational beings and knowledge is power and we are capable of evolving our opinions and of influencing others to do the same.
As we examine the facts, I want to take you through my own mental journey from “there is no way I am getting vaccinated” to “sign-me up ASAP”! Let me set the scene for you, March 2020 the country on lockdown. A few weeks prior, my aunt passed away from colon cancer, a self-proclaimed avoider of the doctor, it came quick and fast and she was gone within a month of a diagnosis. She is missed everyday.
This led me to begin deeply reflecting on my own health and wellness. A maniacal president is in charge of our safety. I have my first puppy who is 7 months old and I am in full on mommy mode. The week we went on lockdown, she was due to get spayed. Needless to say, I was already a bundle of nerves and the thought of not being able to drop her off inside the vets office was crushing me. I cried in my car after doing so. Thus began my journey to examining how any future wellness and medical needs may be handled.
Let me acknowledge that the Latino community has a historically complex relationship with medical professionals. I am no different in that I have had my own personal experiences that lead to the distrust of doctors in general. That’s not to say that I haven’t had positive experiences also, but I am definitely someone who (when possible) will only visit a women physician. Even still, my negative experiences of feeling not listened to, not properly cared for, or rushed-out-the-door have left a scarring impact. So I do not blame others for being hesitant in the slightest.
Fast-forward to April. The old guard is holding press conference after press conference, sending tweet after tweet saying things like, we will have a vaccine by Easter. Not Easter? Definitely summer. Oh, not summer? For sure before the election, but in the meantime drink some bleach! < I’m sorry…WHAT?! Delusional. It was delusional, and dangerous and terrifying all at once. There was zero percent chance that I would have taken anything from anyone that I perceived to report to that man.
Now it’s November, election month, and I am putting all of my energy to get the Latina community to vote. There was no way I would sit by and watch the world burn. And then, we did it! We switched the lights back on in America, and in doing so it reignited my ability to be open to possibilities; possibilities that included considering getting vaccinated. I emphasize consider, because I was still not immediately trusting. With so much disinformation and distrust it was very difficult to accept that whoever was formulating the vaccine was not in fact out to trick us all!
In hindsight, it sounds a bit “silly”, of course you want to take something that prevents you from dying and helps saves the lives of others. But when you are in save-yourself-mode, everything is that much more sensational. Then it happened. My first family member received the vaccine. Then another, and another. All with very mild to no side effects, from either Moderna or Pfizer. The relief I felt was freeing. Just like that, I was converted.
The lesson? I needed someone close to me to tell me it was going to be okay. Don’t we all?
Which brings us to present day. Just last week I hopped in a Clubhouse room, a popular new app that allows people to listen in on conversations, this room was about the Latino community and the vaccine. It didn’t take long to realize there was a problem. The only person talking was a women who was very very against vaccines of any kind. Even admitting it was all based on her opinion. I cannot state enough how dangerous this is. It is one thing to drive your car with your eyes closed and another thing to encourage others to do the same. Her reasoning? None of her sons had ever been vaccinated in their life and they were all doing just fine. Excuse me ma’am…this is an unprecedented global event maybe we should examine each instance with an open-minded perspective. The second we close ourselves off to information, we are willfully ignorant. And ignorance is simply unacceptable and unnecessary.
It was in this moment that I realized there was a larger problem at play here, the fear and hesitancy I felt was not isolated to myself. It was a bullet point to the larger, very complex, picture of the Latino community. We trust what we trust, and that’s often each other as proven from my own experience. If you are one of the Latinas who is still fearful, or just generally hesitant to receiving the vaccine please know it will be okay. You have resources to make the right decision for you and your family and you have a right to take ownership of your health.
So, how was I able to snag a coveted first-dose of the vaccine? My mother is a retired teacher, current substitute teacher, who was eligible for a vaccine almost as soon as it was released. My father, is a high-risk person with numerous underlying health conditions and was also eligible. This led them to refreshing every possible website over and over again to try and even sign up. Then, one chilly Saturday morning my mother was reading the news, and came across an article that the Veteran Affairs office would have a first-come-first-serve morning of vaccines. My father rushed there, only to wait for 5 hours. As he waited he witnessed two men have a stroke. With no where for anyone to sit, and a line that wrapped around the building and out the door, he was determined to see it through. This was truly a testament to those who were risking their lives to save their lives. He reached the front only to realize he wouldn’t be able to take it that day. He had taken a shot for a pre-existing condition too recently and the side affects could lead him to having a stroke of his own. He didn’t get it that day, but a week later both him and my mother would be able to snag a spot via the Walgreens website. It was at one of these visits that they asked about a potential waiting list. You know, the ones that people get on should there be any shots left at the end of a scheduled day. They added my name to one, and another pharmacist said to check back end-of-day Tuesday and he could probably make it happen.
Last night was Tuesday, and he made it happen. I went in at 4:30pm and there was a line of people. He told me to check back at 7pm. I went at 6:45, and there was still a line. So I left and came back at 7:30, he went to the back to check if he had one left. He did. He said to come back at 8:30pm because he was swamped with the drive-through pharmacy line. I obliged and by 9:10pm I had my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. I asked him if anyone had cried from relief and told him he was an American treasure as I left. He was sure to explain to me though that I would need to go through the same process for my second dose and to call him if I had any trouble. The amount of attention and patience every pharmacist who will administer this shot has is heaven sent and I thank them all in advance!
As I laid in bed last night, I reflected on my experience. While waiting for the pharmacist to administer the shot I saw an old white man in the checkout line. He headed to the vaccine window and asked about the vaccine. They told him to visit the website to make an appointment. In that moment, I looked down at my receipt - my golden ticket to mental and physical health and well-being. I felt guilt. Tears came to my eyes as he walked away. I have always known I have a big heart but in that moment, it took everything in me not to run up and tell them to reverse my ticket for this man. A complete stranger. I stopped myself because I know in me getting this vaccine I am saving not only myself but my high-risk parents. I didn’t have much time to sit in the guilt, because an African American man and his young son were next in line. As I watched them interact, and heard that little boys giggles and pure joy I couldn’t help but think that every single life is so precious. Black, white, old, young, Latina, YOUR life is precious. So please, I implore you. Save yourself.
Empower yourself, protect yourself, and stay connected to each other. To everyone who has lost a loved one to COVID-19 this blog is dedicated to your loved ones’ memories. My mother received her first vaccination on the anniversary of her sister and best friends birthday, which just so happened to fall in February. The same sister, whom had she taken steps to visit a doctor regularly may have had more time with us today. She will receive her second dose on her mothers birthday. We are all divinely protected, we just have to trust ourselves to be to guided accordingly.
For the most accurate and up-to-date information on the COVID-19 vaccine stay tuned to the cdc.gov.
