The pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color and has, also, accentuated a longstanding, systemic mistrust of healthcare and government among these same groups. While this remains a national problem, the City of Union City is taking an approach to address the issue collaboratively with community members. The first of several community-driven videos launches today to help raise awareness about the vaccine and to build confidence in the vaccine, especially among Black and Latino communities. In the inaugural video series, Union City residents Amirh Johnson, a medical physicist, and Derrick Richardson, a biotechnology professional, share with the community why they plan to take the vaccine, why it is important that others do so, and why they trust and feel safe taking the vaccine.
Watch the inaugural video here: https://youtu.be/NLuBYPgoubc
Additional videos from Derrick and Amirh covering herd immunity, where to find credible information about the vaccine, and more can be found on the City of Union City YouTube channel. If you have vaccine questions for Derrick and Amirh, you can contact them by filling out a form on our Vaccine Resources website.
Next week, this video campaign will feature Centro de Servicios Executive Director Jaime Jaramillo and Youth and Family Services Manager Pedro Naranjo. This video series will be in Spanish.