MiVacunaLA is a community-based mobile intervention program dedicated to increasing access to knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines among undeserved latino families in East and South Los Angeles and to increase vaccine acceptance among adults and children.

Our Research

Increasing vaccine rates in America’s hardest-hit cities is critical to mitigating the health inequities faced by vulnerable communities. In Los Angeles County, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death for Latinos throughout the 2020 pandemic and continues to be compared to all other racial and ethnic groups who reside in Los Angeles County.

As of September 2021, Latinos reported the highest death rates, with over 12,000 deaths. Barriers, including the need for linguistically accessible and reliable information, continue to present challenges toward getting both adults and Latino children vaccinated. Studies have shown that some of the most prominent barriers to vaccine acceptance in the Latino community are the dissemination of misinformation and myths about COVID-19 vaccines, lack of linguistically and culturally tailored information, and the lack of reliable and trusted sources of information.

Overall, improving COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among Latinx people is critical to mitigating the health inequities faced by Latinx people due to the pandemic.

Figure 1: Los Angeles County residents who have received at least 1 dose of vaccine (as of 9/23/21)

As of September 2021, the current vaccine rates in LAC reveal that Latinx (61.9%) and Black (53.4%) populations are less likely to have at least 1 dose of the COVID-19 vaccine compared to other racial groups across LAC (see Figure 1 below).

*This chart does not include Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander, Multi-Race, Other, and Unknown variables due to limited data.

 

To learn more about Los Angeles County vaccination rates, visit the LA County Dept. of Public Health Vaccine Dashboard below.

Citations

  1. Simon P, Ho A, Shah MD, Shetgiri R. Trends in Mortality From COVID-19 and Other Leading Causes of Death Among Latino vs White Individuals in Los Angeles County, 2011-2020. JAMA. Published online July 19, 2021. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.1194

  2. COVID-19 Locations & Demographics - LA County Department of Public Health. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/locations.htmhttp://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/locations.htm

  3. COVID-19 August 26, 2021, Presentation - LA County Department of Public Health. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/docs/media/08_26_21_Slides.pdf

  4. KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: COVID-19 Vaccine Access, Information, and Experiences Among Hispanic Adults in the U.S. | KFF. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-access-information-experiences-hispanic-adults/

  5.  Understanding America Study (UAS, 2021). Understanding Coronavirus in America. Retrieved on March 26, 2021, from:https://covid19pulse.usc.edu/.

Our Goal

Research Questions

To mitigate the devastating impact of COVID-19 among English and Spanish-speaking Latinos, we propose a pilot community-based mobile intervention to increase access to knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines for underserved Latino families in East and South Los Angeles.

Our text-messaging program will include short web-based videos that address misinformation/disinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. We provide:

  • easy-to-use instruction on how to access the vaccine

  • culturally and linguistically tailored information

  • close partnership with community-based organizations that are trusted sources of information for parents and school children in high-service need areas in Los Angeles

    • Refer to the list of partnerships here

  1. Does a mobile intervention that provides culturally and linguistically tailored information about the COVID-19 vaccine via videos and small informational blurbs have an impact on whether individuals get the vaccine for themselves and/or their children?

  2. Does a mobile intervention that provides culturally and linguistically tailored information about the COVID-19 vaccine via videos and small informational blurbs have an impact on the willingness to vaccinate children for which the vaccine is not currently available?

  3. Does the culturally and linguistically tailored information about the COVID-19 vaccine via videos and small informational blurbs effectively keep individuals engaged with the material over a 4 week period?