Help promote COVID, flu vaccination

An informational campaign to raise awareness of COVID-19 and Influenza vaccination among migrant workers who speak Mexican indigenous languages has been created by Ricardo Vela, manager of News and Information Outreach in Spanish; Amira Resnick, statewide director of Community Nutrition and Health; and Irene Padasas, UC Cooperative Extension community nutrition and health advisor for Tulare, Kings, Fresno and Madera counties.

The project is part of the Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching & Engagement or EXCITE. The interagency agreement with the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funds the Cooperative Extension System to address health disparities among rural and other underserved communities.

UC ANR successfully conducted a COVID-19 vaccination awareness campaign in Spanish and several Mexican indigenous languages in 2022. The “¡Vacunate Ya!” Reaching the Vulnerable campaign partnered with news and community organizations to reach more than 350,000 people in targeted areas of California where Mexican migrant indigenous families live and work.

“This initiative, akin to previous years, prioritizes communication in their native language and will be disseminated via radio, TV and social media platforms within and around Fresno County,” Vela said. “We are fortunate to have established partnerships with UCSF Medical School in Fresno and the Fresno County Department of Health to further support this effort.” 

The current vaccination awareness campaign uses the language of comfort of Mixtecos and Zapotecos of Oaxaca, Totonacas of Veracruz, Nahuas of Guerrero, and Purépechas in Michoacán, who all together account for 5% to 7% of the agricultural workforce in California.

In addition to advertisements for Mexican communities, UC ANR employees are asked to promote vaccination in newsletters and on social media.

“This time, EXCITE has requested that, in conjunction with the external campaign, we run a smaller internal vaccination campaign,” Vela said. “Thus, I am requesting your support to make it happen. All you have to do is help us spread the word by placing one or more graphics in your newsletter and program or employee social media pages.” 

Images can be downloaded at https://app.box.com/s/8ub56opoox3mwx0wsa0mtb992xold8pj.

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