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Misinformation, pressure from relatives, social media campaigns and religious beliefs are reasons some Redwood City Latinos give when expressing hesitations to getting vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a local doctor.
Dr. Victor Villacorta, an internal medicine doctor at Kaiser Redwood City Medical Center, told the Pulse that about 25% to 30% of his patients are Latinx. While most of them have no problem getting the vaccine, others are less confident about it.
Villacorta said his patient told the doctor he listened to a Colombian priest on YouTube who told him not to get the vaccine.
"So I engage patients and try to counteract their arguments with what I think is reasonable, sound science," he said.
Anecdotally, he said, people of all ages could be undecided about getting the vaccine, but he's noticed men, in particular, are more doubtful.
"I have conversations with older Latino men who quote religious reasons and say 'My religion doesn't allow for that,'" Villacorta said, referring to a Catholic patient he treats. "He's concerned the vaccine was developed using fetal cells. And so that was an issue for him.
"And being Catholic myself, I said, 'Listen, even the Pope got the vaccine.'"
A COVID-19 Q&A event scheduled for Friday and intended to ease the fears of Redwood City Latinos hesitant to receive a vaccine was canceled due to weather concerns, according to the city spokesperson.
The event was meant to take place at Palm Park on Hudson Street. Mexican Loteria, drinks, snacks and opportunities to win gift cards were planned for the family-friendly event, according to a Redwood City flyer.
Villacorta, who would have been fielding questions at Friday's event, said activities like these are essential for Latinos.
"It's an important tool that we use to counteract the misinformation that has gone around in a lot of the media outlets," he said.
Have you been vaccinated? It's a question Villacorta asks his patients every day.
"Most people have reported yes, but when they say no, then it's an opportunity to have that conversation, to try to get to the bottom of why, what's the fear, what's the roadblock," he said.
Many of Villacorta's patients are immigrants and after "being cooped up in their homes," they are ready to return to their home countries, he said.
"They know that without the vaccine, they cannot travel," he said, adding that he uses that as an opportunity to ensure they get vaccinated.
The problem is compounded on social media and when relatives start sharing unverified claims.
In recent years, Facebook has said it's been working hard to curb misinformation on its platform.
But the social media giant still has a long way to go, Jessica González, co-CEO of the advocacy group Free Press, told NPR in March.
"There is a gap, quite an enormous gap, in fact, in English and Spanish-language content moderation," she said to the media organization.
Experts in the NPR article pointed to an April 2020 study that showed disparities in how content is moderated in English and Spanish, with warning labels placed on 70% of English posts flagged for misinformation and 30% on Spanish ones.
But Villacorta said he believes he can effect positive change in some of his patients who may still be hesitant.
"Sometimes it comes down to changing one mind and heart at a time, right?"
~Michelle Iracheta is the editor at the Redwood City Pulse, a local news site dedicated to providing accurate and timely news to the Redwood City community. Michelle can be reached at miracheta@rwcpulse.com, on Twitter, on Facebook, and by phone at 832-729-2105. To read more stories about Redwood City, subscribe to our daily Express newsletter on rwcpulse.com.
