UCHealth Doctor encourages Latino community to get COVID-19 vaccine

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting minority groups harder, which is why a doctor in Colorado Springs is urging the Latino community to get vaccinated.

Dr. Jaime Gonzalez with UCHealth says getting vaccinated is important for everyone. However, he hopes the Latino community, in particular, hears this message and has the information they need to get the vaccine.

"The COVID-19 virus has severely impacted the Latino population disproportionally so," said Dr. Gonzalez.

He knows this first hand.

"It has affected my family, my grandmother, she turned 100 in September, but unfortunately she died of COVID-19 last week in Puerto Rico this past Wednesday," Gonzales said.

This is part of the reason why he is emphasizing that the Latino population do their part in taking the vaccine, especially those who fall under the senior category.

"The vaccine is very effective at preventing severe disease, it can be life-saving; those over 70 and 80, that is where most of the mortality is," he added.

In El Paso County, about 17% of the population is Hispanic/Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Data from El Paso County Public Health shows during the week of January 10th, 22% of COVID-19 cases were attributed to Latinos.

The El Paso County Department of Public Health and Environment saying their data is currently incomplete, but at this time, they do not have evidence that Hispanic and Latino populations have a higher rate of illness than other populations in El Paso County.

El Paso County Public Health explains there are several factors contributing to why the virus is hitting some harder.

"A lot of times people might be working hourly wages where they have to be present on-site and can't work from home. Or it might be less access to healthcare or it might be that it is more difficult to isolate or quarantine from other households that may be sick if you are living in a small apartment or smaller house," added Kimberly Pattison, Program Manager for Communicable disease and Tuberculosis at El Paso County Public Health Department.

UCHealth expects to have a hotline phone number available for the public by the end of the week. The hotline will assist people who wish to sign up via phone instead of a computer. They're making this hotline accessible to everyone by making it available in Spanish.

You can sign up and learn more about the vaccine process on their website.