Thread by @EthnicMediaSvc

🗣️We're live tweeting today's briefing, looking at efforts to #vaccinate residents in one of California's most diverse regions, San Joaquin County. Catch the livestream here 👇ethnicmediaservices.org/media-briefing…

Stockton counts 30 languages, with a fast rising population. San Joaquin County, meanwhile, has the highest # of #Covid deaths compared to other rural parts of the state, notes EMS's Sandy Close.

Today's briefing looks at strategies the county is taking to reach an increasingly diverse mix of rural migrants, recently settled refugees, low-income and unhoused people.

Our first speaker today is Dr. Maggie Park, San Joaquin County Public Health Officer. "Our county does have a rather large population... we are the 15th largest county in the state."

I live work and play in this county and I love it for its diversity. But when it comes to the Covid pandemic, that diversity presents a challenge, says Dr. Park.

That diversity represents different languages, different cultures, different geographic areas.

187,934 confirmed cases. This is quite high, but we know it's an undercount, says Dr. Park. "We know we have a big case rate and that the BA% subvariant is driving this.

The 2,270 people we have lost to this disease is the most troubling stat we have.

We have a large number of people 65+ fully vaccinated, but only 57% boosted, so we have more work to do to educate the community. We are also following how many people may be suffering from #LongCovid. We believe we have had 25K cases.

As a county, we try to focus on essential workers - a lot of our black and brown community. "We were committed to the Central Valley of California" to try to reach farmworkers, Dr. Park notes.

Dr. Park is describing a host of services that the county has provided to ensure residents -- especially the most vulnerable -- have access to vaccines.

Our Hispanic pop. has made up a larger proportion of cases in San Joaquin County, says Dr. Park

So thankful for all the work our speakers have done to reach all our communities.

"We've asked communities, and are trying to get over the mis- and disinformation that is still out there. We've heard some interesting stories and are constantly trying to get over this challenge," says Dr. Park.

Our next speaker is Jose Rodriguez, President of the community based org @ElConcilioCA. When Covid first started we knew it would disproportionately affect the Latino community, says Rodriguez.

As an org we had to remain open to provide workers with the services they needed. We began advocating that any health services offered also provide child care and other needed services.

We formed a committee of community partners to strategize advocacy work. It started with testing, and we advocated that the tests be taken to where people were working, rather than expecting them to travel.

That strategy has served us well. The most imp thing to know is that to get people to participate, you have to go to where they are.

Every Sunday we are there at the flea market. People know it's consistent, we're there in a place they are familiar with and are comfortable going to.

Working with the NAACP and Little Manila, we knew these groups were best suited to reach their own communities.

Like Dr. Park, Rodriguez says disinformation remains the biggest challenge. "It's amazing how informed these people are when it comes to vaccines," says Rodriguez. They have a lot of questions.

Now the momentum we've built is starting to wane as people turn their focus to the economy, inflation. And with masking no longer mandated, people are letting their guard down. "And that is a concern for us," says Rodriguez.

"The pandemic exposed a lot of inequities, and as we go back to normal, some of those inequities still have not been addressed."

Our next speaker is Kevin Sunga, Health Director for @littlemanila. Stockton was home to the largest pop of Filipinos outside the Philippines from the 1920s to the 1960s.

In the past year we have facilitated 1500 vaccines. We learned through our experiences that difficulties in increasing vaccine rates involve barriers to accessing information, including language.

There is a gap in translated documents in Tagalog and other Filipino dialects. We've met many people who don't have smart phones and have trouble navigating online information.

"I spent time helping a lola book a vaccine. She was ready to give up and we were able to help her. But unfortunately this isn't a unique story."

Social media misinformation is also a major challenge. We've shifted to more direct engagement approaches. "The ethos of meeting people where they are really helped our work." We've knocked on 55,000 residents' doors.

@littlemanila has organized vaccine information settings for small groups, which helps to create spaces where people feel welcome and included. "This is important for communities that feel marginalized."

I really hope the conversation around Covid includes initiatives around community building, says Sunga, and turning our attention to mental health, asthma and diabetes.

Also, for our local governments to be more transparent about how Covid funding is being spent.

Our next speaker is Heng Sothea Ung, Program Director with APSARA apsaraonline.org

APSARA owns a public apartment complex in Stockton where over 95% of residents are Cambodian refugees.

Most of the Cambodian and S. East Asian community here depend on govt benefits. They come from farming backgrounds, they speak little English with high rates of illiteracy.

Mental health and trauma are huge issues for many who arrived fleeing war and conflict. When #Covid arrived, our role was to bring information to the community as fast as possible.

It took almost 1 year to host a vaccine clinic. Thanks to the partners on this call we had our first clinic in March of 2021.

We provide transportation, we provide interpretation, we help with appointments. APSARA also reaches out to the homeless communities, to gang members, the incarcerated and seasonal workers to get them vaccinated.

There is so much misinformation on the internet and in the community. People who do not speak English cannot access information from the CDC or CDPH. How much more lost must they be. This is why we work so hard to provide that information.

Community members' concerns are for family, for their economic well being. Vaccines typically fall low on their list of priorities. Mental health, housing and gun violence were all preexisting issues. When Covid arrived, these all become more intense.

"It is hard to walk around when the sun goes down," says Ung, referring to the rising sense of fear as violence ticks upward.

Community and faith based organizations can support the health care system to build a bridge to these communities. We need to work more on this.

Some recommendations: build intervention and prevention infrastructure ahead of the next wave; decentralize the funding so that CBOs should be invited to the table; create a local contact datase so we know who to contact.

Our next speaker is Zonnie Thompson, Community Organizer with @FaithinValley. The pandemic exacerbated the housing crisis we were already going through. Our unhoused community grew from 925 to between 3-5K.

One of the things that hit the unhoused was access to health care. When unhoused folks got Covid, they weren't insured so were reluctant to get care. Their encampments hence became hot spots for the virus.

Our unhoused need protection from not just #covid. The heat, rising food costs and inflation, mental health, and struggles to get water. Covid is one of many layers of challenges for the unhoused.

Many unhoused live under overpasses where dirt and debris often fall onto residents and into local water sources, says Thompson.

Nick Worrell is formerly unhoused and is now a housing advocate in San Joaquin. "Ive had covid 5 times now... 3 times while I was homeless."

Going to the encampments to get people vaccinated would be better, as many homeless don't travel into the center of town. Also, many homeless lack proof of past vaccination, so they are often turned away for boosters.

When someone gets Covid it spreads like wildfire through encampments for the simple reason that they can't get the shots, says Worrell.

According to Dr. Park, the county can get into a computerized system to look up people by name and birth date to reprint proof of past vaccines. It's not easy though to get unhoused people to come to the office to get that.

If we know people are interested at specific encampments, we can certainly get people there with vaccines, says Dr. Park.

What is the biggest reason for hesitation around boosters?
Dr. Park: people think the strains going around now are mild and they are waiting for better boosters in the future.

Rodriguez: Some people are hesitant thinking side effects will be worse with subsequent boosters.

Kevin Sunga: Misinformation and complacency. Many people believe the first round of vaccines are enough. How can we help? Positive messaging -- that people can get back to their lives and families -- has been very effective.

Heng Sothea Ung: The damaged sense of safety in the community makes vaccination difficult. Bringing vaccine clinics to people, and holding them in the daytime is important. We still have a lot of Cambodian families who haven't gotten even a single dose.

Zonnie Thompson: The misinformation around the boosters is probably the main reason for hesitation. There are so many stories circulating about the boosters.

Nick Worrell: A lot of the issue is transportation, to get to where the vaccines are. Being able to have walk in vaccines available would also help. For a lot of the homeless, these are big issues, along with the conspiracy theories. A lot of people are still stuck on that.

This is a call to action for the media, says Sandy Close. "Dr. Park says she loves San Joaquin for its diversity. You speakers have been extraordinary ambassadors for San Joaquin. It makes us want to do more to cover your remarkable efforts."

Thanks to @CAPublicHealth for sponsoring these series of conversations. Please visit ethnicmediaservices.org for more reporting on this as well as past and future briefings.

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