University of South Florida Spanish-speaking faculty members are starting a series of Zoom discussions about the COVID-19 vaccine and ways to prevent the spread of the virus.
The community discussions, which kick off Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., will be in Spanish, giving attendees the chance to voice their concerns and opinions in their native language.
“It's important that the community knows that USF has organized this event with faculty who are native Spanish speakers,” said Dr. Miguel Reina Ortiz, Assistant Professor of Global Communicable Diseases.
“The idea is, we will be able to communicate with people in the language where they might be most comfortable speaking to so that they clarify any doubts that they might have.”
Due to an “overload of misinformation” that some people are encountering in Spanish, particularly on social media, Reina Ortiz said USF public health experts want to overcome the language barrier and help the community protect themselves and their families against COVID-19.
Other panelists for Tuesday’s event include:
- Dr. Ricardo Izurieta, Professor of Tropical and Infectious diseases
- Arlene Calvo, Associate Professor of Community and Family Health based in Panama City, Panama
- Dina Martinez-Tyson, Associate Professor of Applied Medical Anthropology and Epidemiology
- Dr. Abraham Salinas-Miranda, Assistant Professor of Family Violence and Maternal and Child Health and Director of the Harrell Center
- Ismael Hoare, Assistant Professor of Health Education
According to Reina Ortiz, the conversations are expected to be part of a weekly series with future discussions looking at the prevention of COVID-19, the impact of different variants, and the effect of the treatment of the virus on gender-based violence.
Another reason for the public discussion was the fact that the virus continues to disproportionately affect the Hispanic community.
“In the U.S., but also in Latin America, there was a report that established that Hispanics were three times as likely to test positive for coronavirus,” said Reina Ortiz, who added they are twice as likely to die from complications related to COVID-19.
“When it comes to vaccinations, it's even more worrisome, because only 9% of all people who have completed the vaccination schedule are Hispanics or Latinos.”
Reina Ortiz added a few other tips for the Spanish-speaking community to help avoid misinformation:
- Make sure the information is coming from an official source such as the Florida Department of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USF’s coronavirus extension page, or other official government sources;
- Reach out to a health provider, primary care physician, or health clinic;
- Attend events such as this community discussion.
Anyone interested in attending this event may pre-register here:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2FQbvBgVQL2-Ydx5lErx2g
More information on the series can be found on the USF College of Public Health’s events page.
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¿Tienes preguntas sobre la vacuna contra COVID-19 (SARS-Cov-2)? ¡No te pierdas nuestra discusión en zoom!
Fecha: Martes, Marzo 16 a las 6:30 pm (Hora Este EEUU)
Regístrate aquí:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2FQbvBgVQL2-Ydx5lErx2g
Más información aquí:
https://www.facebook.com/events/132710955428882
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Transcript:
¡Hola!
Soy el Dr. Miguel Reina Ortiz, Profesor Asistente de la Facultad de Salud Pública de la Universidad del Sur de la Florida, y quisiera hacerte un par de preguntas:
¿Tienes dudas sobre la vacuna contra el coronavirus causante de COVID-19? ¿Te interesa saber más sobre la efectividad y seguridad de esta vacuna?
Entonces, no te pierdas nuestra próxima charla donde hablaremos acerca de la vacuna contra COVID-19.
Esta charla estará liderada por profesores de la Facultad de Salud Pública de la Universidad del Sur de la Florida, incluyendo las Dras. Arlene Calvo y Dinorah Martinez-Tyson y los Drs. Ricardo Izurieta, Abraham Salinas Miranda, Ismael Hoare y mi persona.
La charla está dirigida al público en general y se llevará a cabo el día Martes, 16 de marzo a las 6:30 pm (Hora Este de los EEUU). Esta charla será transmitida en línea a través de Zoom y Facebook live. Y lo más importante, ¡la charla será en Español!
No lo olvides, la charla es el próximo Martes 16 de marzo a las 6:30 pm (Hora Este de los EEUU). Contáctanos a través de nuestra página oficial de Facebook: USF College of Public Health, o a través de los links en esta página web.
Te esperamos!
