Selina Herrera went from being the go-to person in her family when it came to COVID-19 vaccine scheduling, to assisting over 600 people in the Rio Grande Valley region with their appointments, NBC News reports. Some vaccination barriers facing Latinos include limited access to and familiarity with technological tools, a fact realized by Herrera when she began booking appointments for her family members.
But she then realized there were probably others facing the same barriers—and that she could also do the same for them. NBC News reports that nearly a month into her voluntary effort (she’s going at this while working full-time), she’s assisted hundreds. "There are just so many barriers, and this is the solution I had," Herrera told NBC News. "I could offer this."
“Sitting in her living room on her iPhone, Herrera uses a Google form she created at the beginning of March to schedule the appointments,” the report said. "It includes basic contact and health information, as well as how far the applicant is willing to travel to get a vaccine.” She does this work during her lunch break or after getting home. The weekends are also dedicated to ensuring residents, many of them Latino, get their lifesaving doses.
"I've been fortunate enough to be able to catch these appointments for them, and I just have to thank my really fast thumbs and super speed internet, which I know many people may not have," Herrera told NBC News.
Latino communities have been facing obstacles when it comes to vaccine accessibility that have led to being underrepresented in groups getting doses,The New York Times reported last month. “There is limited access to the digital tools needed to secure an appointment, for instance, especially among those who are older and live in immigrant communities,” the report said.
This is where a healthcare advocate, or a community clinic, or a relative—like Herrera—plays a significant role. “Many of the people she signed up came through people she knew,” NBC News continued, with appointments searched through pharmacies like Walgreens or CVS. “To reassure people they could trust her, she put a brief bio on her form. Many experts have said that the best way to get vaccines to hard to reach communities is through trusted sources, which also protects people from potential scammers.”
The report said there’s often a “huge sigh of relief” when Herrera calls back to confirm in Spanish. Some have tried to repay her for her services. "People offer me things and I'm like, 'No, it's OK. It's no big deal,” she said in the report. Now having received her second dose as well, Herrera said that she may add to her voluntary services by driving some people to their appointments as well. While she already factors in distance when searching for appointments, transportation may still be an issue for some.
Health disparities facing Latinos highlights the importance of the Biden administration’s recent initiative directing more doses to community clinics, which have historically played important roles in serving Latino, Black, AAPI, and low-income communities. The Times reported vaccine distribution at community health clinics is already having a positive effect. “While the Hispanic share of the U.S. population is about 18 percent, Hispanic people made up more than a quarter of those nationwide who received their first dose at a community health center, according to an analysis of federal data by the Kaiser Family Foundation.”
Like the NBC News report notes, Herrera is undertaking her voluntary task as Republican state leadership recklessly lifted pandemic restrictions and then tried to pin his superspreading on asylum-seeking families. When asked to back up his claim, Gov. Greg Abbott had nothing.
“Asked whether the governor had numbers on migrants with COVID-19 who have entered the U.S., Abbott spokesman Renae Eze offered a statement Wednesday,” the Associated Press (AP) reported at the time. “Because the Biden administration has refused to step up and do their job, we may never know the true total of COVID-positive illegal immigrants and the impact on our state and our country,” the spokesperson said in the report.