CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — In Tennessee, those of us who primarily speak English have access to information about the pandemic and the COVID-19 vaccine, but what about those who aren’t native speakers?

With the shift to Phase 1c on March 8th, more than a million Tennesseans will become eligible for the vaccine, but despite efforts to inform Hispanic members of our community, many are still being left in the dark.

In Hamilton County, out of the 87,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine distributed so far, only two percent went to the Hispanic community. But the start of Phase 1c could help change those numbers.

“The interest is there, because they are they know, that mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, do have disproportionate health disparities, such as diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, retention, etc.,” said Paulo Hutson with Cempa Community Care.

Underlying health conditions will now qualify more members of the Hispanic community for vaccines in Hamilton County. But despite qualifying Monday, many in the community tell us they don’t have the information they need to get vaccinated.

Organizations like Cempa Community Care has worked to bring information to the Hispanic community since the start of the pandemic. They say they are now working with community partners to bring the community information on vaccines.

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