The latest effort to encourage people of color and non-English speakers in Los Angeles to receive a coronavirus vaccine began Thursday.
The goal of the VaxUp LA COVID-19 public outreach and education awareness campaign is to ensure equitable distribution of available vaccines and reliable information on COVID-19 and vaccines to make sure residents are informed and prepared.
The campaign includes multilingual messaging and outreach by trusted messengers. Materials will be available in nine languages -- English, Spanish, Korean, Tagalog, Armenian, Russian, Thai, Mandarin and Farsi.
The campaign will also employ billboards, advertising online, in newspapers and on bus benches and shelters. There will be posters, table top displays and brochures available at small business, grocery stores and bodegas across Los Angeles.
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Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez marked the start of the campaign by joining employees of the Housing and Community Investment Department in going door-to-door in North Hills promoting coronavirus vaccinations.
Members of some households were given shots of the Pfizer vaccine by Los Angeles Fire Department personnel.
California COVID-19 Vaccinations
The map tracks the number of doses administered by a recipient's county of residence according to the The California Department of Public Health.
Source: The statewide totals for doses administered reflect Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Otherwise we used data from the California Department of Public Health.
Amy O’Kruk/NBC
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"The COVID-19 virus is not going away until we all get vaccinated," said Ann Sewill, the Housing and Community Investment Department's general manager.
"The vaccine is the most powerful tool available to us to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and prevent hospitalizations and deaths. The coordinated multilingual outreach campaign will ensure the information reaches Angelenos where they are at."
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday the vaccination rate of Black and Latino communities continues to lag behind the rest of the population, particularly among younger groups. Just 21% of Black residents and 32% of Latino residents aged 16-17 have received one dose, compared to 51% of white residents and 67% of Asian residents that age.
Among 18- to 29-year-olds, just 24% of Black residents have received at least one dose and 37% of Latino residents. Among white residents in that group, the rate is 54%, and among Asians, it's 70%.
The low vaccination rates have translated to higher rates of infections, hospitalizations and deaths among Black and Latino residents in recent weeks, Ferrer said.
