WACO, TX — The City of Waco along with other bi-cultural stakeholders and leaders came together for a Spanish Town Hallon Thursday to debunk a few COVID-19 myths and answer other questions regarding the pandemic for the Hispanic community in McLennan County.
Moderator of the town hall and Council Member Hector Sabido said there were many who were afraid of the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We wanted to address those and let people know that it really is safe to take the vaccine," Sabido said.
The biggest worry among the Hispanic community were those who wanted a vaccine but thought they couldn't receive one because they were undocumented. Sabido said that's absolutely not true.
"We wanted to ensure that when you go get the vaccine none of that information is asked. It is not shared with ICE it's not shared with the government this is a health public safety issue," Sabido said.
Everyone is entitled to get the vaccine, although some may not have the means to access or reserve a spot in time.
Dr. Iliana Neumann with the Family Health Center said they were calling their patients who were eligible letting them know they can come in and reserve a vaccine if they wanted.
This helped those with language barriers access the vaccine quicker.
"It's really important for me to be out there getting the information because I'm hoping that it helps engender trust in the communities that we're trying to serve," Dr. Neumann said.
The Spanish Town Halls have been organized since the virus first arrived in Waco and Dr. Neumann says with many more on social media she saw information about the virus and vaccine be misconstrued.
"So this town hall was our way to kind of elbow our way into social media in more of a way that our communities access information," Dr. Neumann said.
"With questions that are arising especially with the Spanish speaking community we want to be able to address those and to make sure people feel safe and their questions are answered as we move forward," Sabido said.
The Spanish Town Hall presented on 1/28/21 can be found below.