As Latinx people experienced disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington state, LCH conducted research, organized symposiums, and produced policy briefs in partnership with community leaders. LCH continues to build relationships and disseminate information that addresses the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 Policy Brief Series
LCH researchers used data from the “Understanding Washington Latinos’ Experiences Around COVID-19” to create policy briefs highlighting specific issues. LCH developed the study in partnership with SeaMar Community Health Centers and surveyed 500 urban and rural Latinx patients across WA State to better understand their experiences surrounding COVID-19, including housing, employment, immigration, safety, and attitudes towards vaccinations.
Coming to Terms with Long COVID: Deepa’s Story
They Don’t See the Crash: Jesse’s Long COVID Story
- Latino Views on COVID-19 Vaccinations: Understanding Hesitancy. Released April 27, 2021.
- Depression and Anxiety among Latinos: Urgent Call for Mental Health Services. Released June 16, 2021.
- Vaccination Rates Among Washington State Latinos Remain Low as Delta Variant Emerges in the U.S. Released July 7, 2021.
- Examining Trusted Sources of COVID-19 Information Among Latinos. Released October 6, 2021.
- Vaccination Rates Among Washington State’s Latinos are Improving, but Challenges Remain. Released October 27, 2021.
- Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Latinos in WA State and its Toll on Women. Released December 9, 2021.
- New childcare, teaching responsibilities during COVID-19 pandemic widening educational gaps for Latino families. Released March 10, 2022.
Latinx Leaders Across Washington State Call for Culturally Responsive Policies for COVID-19 Recovery
Latino Legislative Day 2021
Key Points
- Latinos have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 infections and mortality.
- Latinos lag non-Hispanic Whites in COVID-19 testing, even though this disparities.
- Access to vaccines is limiting efforts to vaccinate Latinos, though unaddressed hesitancy remans important
- The state’s vaccine monitoring and reporting metrics lack measures of equity and transparency.
View Dr. Leo Morales Slides for Latino Legislative Day 2021, or view full recording of the event.
COVID-19 and Mental Health
COVID-19 Vaccine
Webinar: The Burden of COVID-19 on Latinx Communities in WA State
On September 23rd, 2020, the Latino Center for Health (LCH) hosted a webinar to raise awareness of the largely hidden disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on Latinx communities across Washington State and to amplify community- and state-led response efforts happening in our rural and urban communities.
COVID-19 News Articles
University of Washington study will survey Latinos in the state with COVID-19 | published February 20, 2023 in Yakima Herald Republic, citing Dr. Leo Morales
Survey focus: long COVID impact on Latino communities | published February 16, 2023 in UW Medicine Newsroom, citing Dr. Leo Morales
COVID-19 spikes fourfold among Washington’s Latinos, and it’s reaching almost every corner of the population | published January 24, 2021 in The Seattle Times, citing Dr. Leo Morales
Disproportionately hit by COVID-19, WA Latinos brace for vaccine | published January 14, 2021 in Crosscut, citing Dr. Leo Morales
Farmworkers can’t pick apples through Zoom | published September 24, 2020 in KNKX following the webinar
El peso del COVID-19 en la población latina del estado de Washington | published September 23, 2020 following the webinar
COVID-19 Research
Understanding Washington Latinos’ Experiences around COVID-19
Principal Investigator: Dr. Leo Morales
In collaboration with Sea Mar Community Health Centers, this research study seeks to survey 500 urban and rural Latino patients across Washington State to better understand their experiences surrounding COVID-19, including experiences around health and wellbeing, housing, employment, immigration, safety, and attitudes towards vaccinations.
Findings will be disseminated in April 2021.
Codeveloping Culturally Relevant Messages for Farmworker Safety and Health in the COVID-19 Pandemic
A project to assess and address the need for public health messages dealing with the coronavirus outbreak and targeted to Latino immigrants in Yakima County received a UW Population Health Initiative COVID-19 rapid response grant in May 2020.
LCH co-director Dr. Gino Aisenberg is one of the team’s six co-investigators of the project, along with doctoral candidate Maria Blancas, Dr. Carmen Gonzalez, Dr. June Spector, Dr. Edward Kasner, and Elizabeth Torres from Northwest Communities Education Center and Radio KDNA
Read more about the project here.
Partnering with the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) to Advance their Community Response Efforts
WAISN has assumed exemplary leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep immigrant and refugee families healthy through its COVID-19 community response efforts, including the statewide COVID-19 immigrant response hotline and online resource finder. LCH humbly offered WAISN its research and evaluation expertise and resources in community and solidarity to advance these efforts.
Under the leadership of Dr. Barbara Baquero and in partnership with WAISN representatives, a group of graduate students from Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, and Social Work conducted an impact evaluation of WAISN’s COVID-19 immigrant response hotline to assess the reach and impact of this community response effort for program improvement and to inform future emergency efforts.
This group also participated in the WAISN healthcare access work group along with El Centro de la Raza, Northwest Health Law Advocates, and ACLU of Washington, and provided expertise in the development of a brief statewide survey to inform health equity for immigrants. This resulted in a campaign to increase access to healthcare services for immigrant communities.
Finally, this group of faculty and students helped WAISN boost its online resource finder by vetting healthcare organizations across the state that provide timely and adequate care for immigrants and refugees.
Other relevant news & peer-reviewed journal articles:
Understanding and Addressing Latinx COVID-19 Disparities in Washington State | published in 2020 by LCH affiliates Dr. Maggie Ramirez, Dr. Barbara Baquero, Dr. India Ornelas, Dr. Carmen Gonzalez, and Erica Chavez
Piden protecciones para frenar la transmisión del virus en los Hispanos | published July 28, 2020 in Univisión Seattle, featuring Dr. Gino Aisenberg
The curious case of Latinos and Covid-19 | published April 27, 2020 in KUOW, featuring Dr. Leo Morales
Interconnected: The Latino community calls for action amid high COVID-19 rates | published August 9, 2020 in The Seattle Times
WA to create $40M fund for undocumented workers hurt by pandemic | published August 10, 2020 in Crosscut
COVID-19 Death Rates Are Higher in Rural Counties With Larger Shares of Blacks and Hispanics | published in 2020 in The Journal of Rural Health