Nonprofit Helping Vaccinate Latino Community “Where They Are”

Jose Molina receives his second dose of the Moderna vaccine at the Adelante Vaccine site at the Mile High Flea Market.

Story and Phots by Giles Clasen

When the rain started, on a recent Sunday, Maria Gonzalez wondered aloud if the line of people would return. Then her optimism kicked in.

“They’ll be back,” Gonzalez said. “The rain will only last for a minute. But we’ll be here all day.”

Sure enough, a few minutes after the rain stopped at Mile High Flea Market, a line of people formed to get their Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

The vaccination site was organized and run by Adelante Community Development, a nonprofit serving the Latino community, in partnership with the state of Colorado. The partnership is part of a strategy to vaccinate the Colorado Latino community.

 “I learned early on that because of the disparities in the Latino community we were not going to be easily vaccinated,” said Gonzalez, founder and CEO of Adelante Community Development. “I knew the barriers to access was going to hurt our economic situation. I knew immediately [Adelante] could do a good job getting Latinos vaccinated if we went to them.”

Gonzalez chose the Flea Market as the vaccination site because nearly 15,000 individuals visit the market each Saturday and Sunday. The crowds skew heavily Latino. Adelante has made the site easily to access with no reservations necessary. Walk up visitors are encouraged.

Gonzalez’s bet has paid off. Nearly 5,000 individuals have been vaccinated at the Mile High Flea Market so far. according to Jessica Bralish, director of communications for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Nearly 5,000 individuals have received vaccines at the Mile High Flea Market. “The state recognizes health disparities are not the result of individual choices, but rather the institutional and systemic barriers that existed long before the pandemic,”Jessica Bralish, director of communications for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said in an email.

Jose Molina smiled as the second dose of the Moderna vaccine was plunged into his arm.

 “I wanted the vaccine for my health, and for the wellbeing of the people I work around,” Molina said in Spanish, his daughter, Maria Comacho,  translating.

 Comacho said she and her sister had been encouraging her parents to get the vaccine since it became available, but her parents speak only a little English and aren’t accustomed to using a computer, making it more difficult to access the vaccine. 

 “My sister and I are able to translate and get our parents where they need to go,” Comacho said. “But not every person has a translator. Not every adult is tech savvy enough to find a vaccine site. So, it is really important to have it here where my parents are familiar.”

 A study from the Kaiser Family Foundation released in May stated that Latino individuals are two times more likely than white individuals to want the vaccine, however there are a fair number of barriers impeding vaccination. 

These barriers include not speaking English, misunderstanding the cost of a vaccination, not having access to the internet or concerns about immigration status.

“The state recognizes health disparities are not the result of individual choices, but rather the institutional and systemic barriers that existed long before the pandemic,”Bralish said in an email. “Our recent work with communities of color has helped establish critical partnerships, helped build trust and created a foundation for working together as we move forward.”

“These barriers are why vaccination sites like the one at the Mile High Flea Market are important,” said Dr. David Rojas, a staff member at the vaccination site and fellow at the University of Colorado in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

“The Latinx community in Colorado plays a significant role in the economy,” Dr. Rojas said. “They’re the ones doing a lot of work that affluent individuals don’t want to do. They’re highly exposed through the work they do.”

A study from the Kaiser Family Foundation released in May stated that Latino individuals are two times more likely than white individuals to want the vaccine, however there are a fair number of barriers impeding vaccination. But many barriers exist to Latino individuals receiving the vaccination impeding the vaccination efforts.

The State of Colorado is working on many fronts to help all people find a vaccine site, Bralish said. 

To enable access to the vaccine the state is partnering with 1300 vaccine equity clinics, offering crisis counselors to support vaccine literacy, operating a 24/7 vaccine hotline that can help individuals in multiple languages including Spanish, providing transportation for those who need it and marketing the vaccine on a Spanish and English Facebook page and offering vaccines at work sites in partnership with employers.

Adelante was able to offer the vaccine through partnership with the Colorado Vaccine Equity Task Force, a group formed to ensure all communities have access to the vaccine.

Gonzalez said she is hopeful that health services to the Latino community will continue to improve after the pandemic has ended because of programs like the Vaccine Equity Task Force, but she says that optimism only goes so far.

“At the local level there isn’t a great deal of support, we get overlooked,” Gonzalez said. “There should be more access to services and more support for agencies like Adelante who can have a big impact with a little support.”

Following is additional information about vaccinationsin Colorado: 

-       Adelante offers vaccines at no cost each Sunday at the Mile High Flea Market from 10 a.m.  until 4 p.m. No appointment necessary.

-       The Colorado Vaccine Hotline -  1-877-CO VAX CO (1-877-268-2926)

-       Enroll in the Colorado Workplace Vaccination Program - https://covid19.colorado.gov/atworkvaccinationsco

-       Visit the Spanish language Colorado Vaccination resource website - https://covid19.colorado.gov/vaccine

You can also view testimonials about vaccinations from other Coloradans on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL88QY-bqwU1L2SqKtzNfUStkAUmenNKWQ

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