Dr. De Alba joins national campaign against vaccine hesitancy

UNMC’s Armando De Alba, MD, assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion student programs in the UNMC College of Medicine, has been selected as a keynote speaker as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services begins its inaugural campaign to overcome vaccine hesitancy directed towards Hispanics in the United States.

The program, “Juntos Sì Podemos,” kicks off Wednesday with a Spanish-language Zoom webinar aimed at health professionals at 3 p.m. CDT. Register here.

The campaign is designed to promote confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine, motivate prevention and support grassroots organizations in their efforts to reach out and educate the community. The Health Initiative of the Americas is organizing a series of webinars to train health care providers and public health officials on the use of materials and tools offered by this campaign in English and Spanish.

“While there is optimism about achieving an end to the pandemic through vaccination, current vaccination rates in our Hispanic community living in the U.S. continue to be low,” Dr. De Alba said. “These low vaccination rates will place Hispanics at higher risk for acquiring new variants, perpetuate existing health disparities and jeopardize our ability to achieve national herd immunity.”

Multiple factors contribute to vaccine hesitancy among Hispanics, including misinformation and structural barriers within the health care system.

“One way to address vaccine hesitancy is by empowering our communities through education with timely, accurate and linguistically appropriate health information tailored to their current needs,” Dr. De Alba said. “This is the essence of the ‘Juntos Si Podemos’ campaign, and I am honored to create synergy with them representing our institution.”