LOS ANGELES \u2014 COVID-19 vaccines are now available for free to anyone in Los Angeles County who can show they\u2019re at least 12 years old. Where you live, or whether or not your papers are in order, just doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
But meanwhile, of the new COVID cases occurring, 21% are among young people, up from 3% a year ago.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles County Office of Immigrant Affairs presented these facts and addressed a wide range of fictions about COVID-19 and the vaccinations needed to stop new cases and to prevent new virus variants from taking hold at a virtual town hall presentation it organized on May 20.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sooner we get our families vaccinated, the safer we will all be,\u201d said Rigo Reyes, OIA director.<\/p>\n
There are now more than 750 places in Los Angeles County where you can get a vaccine. If you need to know where they are, call (833) 540-0473.\u00a0 That telephone line is open every day, from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., in many languages. Besides finding out where you can get a shot, if you need a ride to get there, or if you or someone you live with needs to get your vaccine at home, just say so and they\u2019ll arrange it.<\/p>\n
And if you can\u2019t get through at that number, call 211, or go to the internet:\u00a0vaccinatelacounty.com<\/a>\u00a0which includes a\u00a0Spanish-language link<\/a>\u00a0to its information, or the\u00a0county Department of Public Health website<\/a>\u00a0which offers its information in many more languages.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t matter if you live in Los Angeles County. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a U.S. citizen, or if you\u2019re in the country illegally. You don\u2019t need an appointment and you won\u2019t be asked about your immigration status.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want everyone to get vaccinated,\u201d said Dr. Eloisa Gonzalez, of the county Department of Public Health, one of the speakers. \u201cIf you show up, you will be vaccinated. You will not be charged. We will never share information with other agencies, including immigration. It\u2019s none of their business.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the safety of the vaccines for people with asthma, or diabetes, cancer, or allergies, Gonzalez replied that the risk of contracting COVID-19 for people who have those conditions is greater than any risks posed by the vaccines themselves.<\/p>\n Test subjects of all approved vaccines, she said, included people of color, kids, those with underlying health conditions, and more.\u00a0 In fact, she said, having one of those conditions \u201cis all the more reason you should be first in line\u201d to get a vaccine.<\/p>\n Also on the panel was Valentina Pereda, a documentary filmmaker who researches misinformation in Latinx communities and worked for the Obama administration in communications.<\/p>\n Pereda addressed concerns she\u2019d observed transcending borders and cultural differences around the world. Among them: allegations of schemes by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and\/or philanthropist George Soros, rumors that the vaccines include microchips that will allow tracking of immigrants\u2019 whereabouts, of a risk of being sterilized, or that getting vaccinated will change your DNA.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s kind of on the crazy side,\u201d she said of those issues, \u201cbut we are in a time now when there\u2019s a lot of confusion. Anybody can put on a doctor\u2019s coat and start a YouTube channel and seem convincing. Have a conversation, be patient, ask more questions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere are influencers out there who don\u2019t necessarily know the science and may cast doubt about whether these vaccinations are safe,\u201d Gonzalez concurred. But, addressing one rumor that she said would worry her too, Gonzalez said, \u201cthere is at this time no evidence that points to there being any impact on fertility. No scientific rationale that there could be.\u201d<\/p>\n But even as recently as last year, Pereda acknowledged, women held in U.S. immigration detention camps were subjected to hysterectomies without their consent, rendering them infertile, so \u201cthere\u2019s definitely a history there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMedical mistrust is rampant in a lot of immigrant communities,\u201d she said. \u201cSpanish, black, Arab, Asian Pacific \u2026 Also, people form a deep distrust of government in some countries.\u201d<\/p>\n And cultures around the world have centuries of experience with alternative medicines that can, indeed, be helpful in easing some of the symptoms of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cBut sometimes you need intervention,\u201d she cautioned.<\/p>\n \u201cLatino adults continue to be among the most UN-vaccinated groups. There needs to be proactive communication on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n A third of the people in Los Angeles County were born in another country, Reyes pointed out, \u201cso we need to be mindful of culture. If you have any doubts, please give us a call.\u201d<\/p>\n