HispanicHealth.info and VaccinateForAll.org Websites are Officially Launched by The National Hispanic Medical Association
The New User-Friendly Websites are Designed to Help Latinos Learn More About and Navigate the COVID-19 Vaccination Process As Well As Other Health Concerns The National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) is pleased to announce the official launch of two websites: HispanicHealth.info and VaccinateForAll.org. Both of the new resources are devoted to helping boost access and awareness about the COVID-19 vaccination process and other issues that may impact the health of the Latino population. HispanicHealth.info was created to provide extensive and accessible resources to the Hispanic community, in both English and Spanish, as well as those who serve their medical needs to help mitigate the disproportionate effects of health inequity they face. Resources on the website have been carefully vetted by the NHMA to make sure that all information is accurate, reliable, and relevant to improving the health of the community. “Through the HispanicHealth.info portal, NHMA will decrease health disparities by providing bilingual health information from trustworthy sources for its networks of physicians, patients, and others in the Hispanic community to improve their health,” said NHMA President & CEO Elena V. Rios, MD, MSPH, FACP. The goal of VaccinateForAll.org is to connect and support trusted leaders across the U.S. in regards to how they serve the health of members of their local Hispanic population. The connections between Hispanic patients and dependable community leaders are crucial and important to help overcome barriers to vaccine access. Data from across sectors prove that one of the most important factors in making a decision to get vaccinated is hearing from community leaders. In addition to provide people with highly important information and resources about the COVID-19 vaccine, visitors to the sites will also find information about health concerns and disparities specifically relating to the Latino community such as asthma, hypertension, diabetes, and the effects of the pandemic on mental health and stress-related concerns. VaccineForAll.org is always looking to partner with organizations that support their shared mission to increase vaccine access and uptake in the Hispanic/Latino population. To express interest in collaborating with Vaccinate For All as an Organizational Champion, please visithttps://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/qywKcvS/becomeachampionALL. About NHMA: Established in 1994 in Washington, DC, the National Hispanic Medical Association is a non-profit association representing the interests of 50,000 licensed Hispanic physicians in the United States. NHMA is dedicated to empowering Hispanic physicians to be leaders who will help eliminate health disparities and improve the health of Hispanics. For more information, please visit https://www.nhmamd.org/. Media Contact: Dylan Garciadgarcia@nhmamd.orghttps://www.nhmamd.org/2028443309
Statement in Support of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates for All Essential Workers
Washington, DC / The National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) applauds the recent announcement by the Biden Administration to require employers with 100+ employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. NHMA calls on all employers of essential workers, regardless of size, to require their employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to weekly testing. As cases of the contagious Delta variant surge, essential workers are continuing to be put at risk, especially by the unvaccinated. Despite the recent full FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, unvaccinated essential workers face a greater risk of exposure in the workplace. This subsequently puts them and their loved ones at increased risk of hospitalization and death. The Hispanic/Latino community not only has higher than average rates of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19, but they also make up a large portion of the essential workforce. Over half of Hispanic/Latinx workers have jobs that require working in-person, and they are more likely to use public transit and not have employer-provided health insurance. This makes essential workers more likely to catch the virus without having the needed insurance to help combat it. NHMA also calls for the Administration, Congress, and employers to allow essential workers to take the needed paid time off to receive the vaccine and recover without penalty. The pandemic has emphasized the need for COVID-19 prevention education and paid medical and family leave as an important part of public health. Essential workers need the ability to care for themselves and their families when they are sick or recovering from a medical procedure. As an important part of the economy, they should not have to choose between their health and getting a paycheck. Hispanic/Latino workers face greater disparities when it comes to access to paid leave and the ability to afford to take unpaid leave. Employers must ensure that vaccine mandates do not cause greater harm by punishing essential workers for having to miss work in order to get the vaccine and recover from any side effects. Already, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is creating a rule to have employers provide paid time off for the time it takes for workers to get vaccinated or to recover if they are under the weather post-vaccination. Dr. Elena Rios, MD, MSPH, FACP, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Medical Association states, “Essential workers are heroes and we all rely on them to keep essential services running during this pandemic. Now, the most important thing employers can do is support essential workers by removing barriers to COVID-19 vaccination,” For more information on NHMA please visit our website https://www.nhmamd.org/ About NHMA Established in 1994 in Washington, DC, the National Hispanic Medical Association is a non-profit association representing the interests of 50,000 licensed Hispanic physicians in the United States. NHMA is dedicated to empowering Hispanic physicians to be leaders who will help eliminate health disparities and improve the health of Hispanics. Media Contact Dylan Garciadgarcia@nhmamd.org2028443309