Dr. Miriana Duran, Data Analyst at the Latino Center for Health and Aida Hidalgo, capstone student at LCH, are both quoted in this blog: https://www.kuow.org/stories/pandemic-blog-updates-for-seattle-and-the-nw-47cd
Tag: health policy
COVID-19 Vaccination Rates among Washington State’s Latinos are Improving, but Challenges Remain
A new policy brief from LCH reports that, although Washington state has made significant progress towards vaccinating Latinos against COVID-19, some urban and rural Latinx communities are lagging behind and remain at significant risk of COVID-19 infections.
University of Washington, Seattle: As part of a newly released COVID-19 policy brief, the Latino Center for Health reports that overall in Washington state, the rate of fully vaccinated individuals among Latinos twelve years of age and older was 54.6% as of September 29, 2021, up from 40.5% in July (2021), representing a 33.4% increase in the number of vaccinated Latinos.
“The greatest risk we face now is to be complacent about the COVID-19 pandemic. We cannot rest until we have reached all unvaccinated and under-vaccinated Latinos in our state,” said LCH co-Director Leo S. Morales, MD, PhD, who wrote the policy brief.
Although progress has been made since July, this is a critical moment to reexamine vaccination rates among Latinos, with approximately 341,808 of the estimated 752,802 Latinos twelve years of age and older in our state remaining partially vaccinated or unvaccinated. Approval of COVID-19 vaccines for 5–11 year-olds will result in 156,577 additional Latinx children in the state becoming eligible to for vaccination.
This policy brief urges our state’s elected leadership to continue their support of community-based organizations and trusted community leaders who use culturally and linguistically tailored approaches to increase access and overcome hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccines in Latinx communities.
Other recommendations for increasing vaccine uptake among Latinos can be found in our recent policy briefs on vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 information sources.
This policy brief is part of LCH’s COVID-19 policy brief series. LCH researchers used data from the 2019 Census QuickFacts website and the WA State Department of Health COVID-19 Dashboard.
Download the policy brief here:
LCH welcomes Antoinette Angulo as inaugural Policy Director
After nearly three years of leadership as the Community Partnership Specialist at the Latino Center for Health, Antoinette Angulo has been named the Center’s inaugural Policy Director effective September 1, 2021. Antoinette, a Chicana from Los Angeles, is an experienced public health practitioner and highly respected activist in Seattle, WA. She earned her MPH from the University of Washington and studied health policy at UC Berkeley.
Antoinette has over 20 years of experience working with Latinx populations in the U.S. and in Latin America in clinical, research, and community health settings. She is experienced in partnering with stakeholders such as impacted community members, promotores, restaurant and hospitality workers, and healthcare workers to co-produce credible data to inform policymakers and advance health policy at the community, state, and national levels. Most recently, she led the Increasing the Latinx Physician Workforce NOW project for LCH, which culminated in the passing of Senate Bill 5228 and House Bill 1129 in the 2021 WA state legislative session.
As the inaugural Policy Director for the Latino Center for Health, Antoinette is pleased to lead the Center’s efforts in bridging evidence with policymaking to promote the health and well-being of Latinx communities in WA state.