Martha Navarro:
“ You don’ t have to wait for a family member to die to understand to take the vaccine.”
Martha Navarro’ s dedication and hard work as a promotora / health navigator and researcher has been integrally responsible for the success of several community-based participatory research projects engaging the Latino community of South Los Angeles. Her previous work has included participation on the Diabetes Health Literacy Augmentation in Multi-cultural Populations( Diabetes Health LAMP) funded by AHRQ and the South Los Angeles Breast Health Promotion Project funded by CMS / DHS. Both studies resulted in the development of innovative health communications venues to promote health literacy.
Martha Navarro
Most recently, Ms. Navarro joined the NCI funded CDU / UCLA Cancer Center Partnership and facilitated the engagement of a Spanish speaking Latino Community Academic Council. Ms. Navarro brings her insights as a community leader in South LA as well as her experiences as a breast cancer survivor to the Cancer Center Partnership and to CDU.
It is the responsibility of my doctor for the validity of the science. We don’ t have to believe the negative statements on social media because someone who claims to be a medical professional can provide the wrong information about the vaccine, and we are not sure whether it is true or false.
Each and every person shares the responsibility as a member of the community to be vaccinated. If we don’ t take the vaccine, the future, which includes my son and my grandson’ s life, will be horrible. It won’ t be a happy future for them. To date, 60 % of the Latino community have been vaccinated and 40 % have not. The obvious lesson learned: a lot of people have needlessly passed away. You don’ t have to wait for a family member to die to understand to take the vaccine.
My own friends and co-workers have died. My son’ s grandmother didn’ t believe that the epidemic was real. She said that the pandemic was something developed by the government. But she is scared
now. She thinks differently, now that two members of her family have died from COVID. Now she promotes vaccination for her family and others.
It’ s very important in my community to promote the vaccine in churches, in all levels of the schools, senior centers, and local businesses. In families, we talk. I come over and explain to the families how God works in the family and the importance of taking the vaccine.
You can’ t listen to social media. People say things that aren’ t true. You have to trust in God and the science. In the 1940s we didn’ t have a vaccine and people were coming down with tuberculosis, smallpox, chicken pox, the flu, and measles. Many people weren’ t being treated; something similar to what we are facing now with the pandemic. To be honest, I don’ t think that governments all over the world want to kill people. It’ s the responsibility of everyone to end this pandemic.
CDU College of Medicine | PG. 29