A Sacred Heart University professor has secured a $100,000 grant to make the COVID-19 and flu vaccines more accessible in Connecticut’s Latinx and immigrant communities.
Public health expert Sofia Pendley said immigrants have many roadblocks to overcome when it comes to getting vaccinated.
“Lack of health insurance, language barriers and then also the fear of being discovered as undocumented, and in general lack of understanding of the health care system are big barriers,” Pendley said.
Pendley’s team and the advocacy group Make the Road Connecticut will interview Latinx communities to better understand their concerns about vaccines. Then, they will create recommendations to train health care workers to better reach vaccine-hesitant patients.
Sacred Heart University is the licensee of WSHU Public Radio.
