SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diego County's South Bay has been hot hardest by the pandemic, but it now has a major accomplishment to cheer about.
"Over 95% of our 65 plus population have received the vaccine," Nora Vargas, San Diego County Supervisor, District 1, said.
It was all about overcoming the three biggest barriers for the most vulnerable population in the South Bay:
Access to technology, the language barrier and the lack of transportation.
She attributes the statistical success to a pilot program started earlier this year that insured the most vulnerable populations had access to the CIVID-19 vaccine.
"We created different opportunities to make sure people had access and that I think really made a difference," Vargas said.
Access was created by overcoming a series of hurdles. The first was helping seniors navigate technology by expanding 211.
"So people could actually make appointments not just call and as where the locations were," she said.
The next hurdle was the language barrier. The solution - community navigators. They were able to go where the people were and provide education.
"People went door-to-door and our community organizations actually reached out to people and said - it's your turn make sure you get vaccinated," she said.
And finally, establishing the vaccination super center in the heart of the community helped with the lack of transportation.
"People have access to transportation to know where the location is across the way you have COVID testing so the community knows when this is at," Vargas said.
Since this pilot program proved to be a success, the goal is to model this process in different areas of the county as well.
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