Spanish Translation On Virginia Website Says Vaccine ‘Not Necessary’

WRIC: Translation On Virginia Department Of Health’s Website Told Spanish Readers They Didn’t Need The COVID-19 Vaccine
A Google generated translation on the Virginia Department of Health’s website told Spanish-readers that the COVID-19 vaccine was “not necessary.” The Virginian Pilot first reported the issue on Monday after a member of the Virginia Vaccination Advisory Workgroup raised concerns about a faulty translation. The translation in question was part of VDH’s "Frequently Asked Questions" page that translated “the vaccine is not required” to “la vacuna no es necesaria” — “the vaccine is not necessary.” (Manzanares, 1/18)

Richmond Times Dispatch: Virginia Uses Google Translate For COVID Vaccine Information. Here's How That Magnifies Language Barriers, Misinformation
Immigrant advocates and certified translators said the state’s failure to prioritize adequate translation showed Virginia’s lack of investment in populations already facing a trust gap in the health care system and language barriers that have historically limited access to medical care. (Moreno, 1/14)

In other news about the vaccination effort —

GeekWire: Microsoft Campus Near Seattle Will Be Used To Administer COVID-19 Vaccine 
Microsoft is turning its empty campus into a COVID-19 vaccination site. The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant is working with the state of Washington and local hospitals to open up buildings at its headquarters for vaccine administration. Microsoft President Brad Smith made the announcement Monday as part of Gov. Jay Inslee’s news conference detailing the state’s new COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan. (Soper, 1/18)

CNN: Washington State Announces Partnership With Companies Including Starbucks And Microsoft To Boost Vaccinations 
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Monday a series of new efforts to help boost the state's Covid-19 vaccinations, including partnerships with companies like Starbucks and Microsoft. Inslee revealed in a news conference the state has established a "public private partnership" between the health department and other business, health care and labor leaders, dubbed the "Washington State Vaccine Command and Coordination Center." (Rose and Maxouris, 1/19)

Politico: L.A. Schools Chief Wants To Launch California's Largest Teacher Vaccine Effort
Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner is calling on state and local health officials to immediately allow the district to turn its more than 1,400 schools into Covid-19 vaccination sites, focusing on shots for teachers and school staff in what would become California's biggest education vaccine push. California has prioritized teachers among vaccine recipients but left distribution up to counties, and there is no large-scale effort yet to inoculate school employees in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom altered the state's vaccine course Wednesday when he announced residents 65 years and older could receive shots in a bid to accelerate vaccinations and protect a high-risk population. (Mays, 1/18)

Boston Globe: Hundreds Of Medical Professionals Call On Baker To Prioritize Vaccine Access For Black And Immigrant Communities
On the day the state’s first mass vaccination site launched at Gillette Stadium, community activists and medical professionals Monday called on Governor Charlie Baker and state public health officials to prioritize access to the COVID-19 vaccine to the Black and immigrant communities in Massachusetts. “Our Black and Latino neighbors have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, and we have failed to implement sufficient measures to protect them,” said a letter signed by more than 250 and delivered to Baker on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “We cannot afford to neglect our hotspot communities during the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine.” (Krueger, 1/18)

In related news —

KHN: Black Americans Are Getting Vaccinated At Lower Rates Than White Americans 
Black Americans are receiving covid vaccinations at dramatically lower rates than white Americans in the first weeks of the chaotic rollout, according to a new KHN analysis. About 3% of Americans have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine so far. But in 16 states that have released data by race, white residents are being vaccinated at significantly higher rates than Black residents, according to the analysis — in many cases two to three times higher. (Recht and Weber, 1/17)

Courier-Journal: COVID-19 Vaccine: Leaders Look To Build Trust In Black Community
Louisville officials and health care leaders on Monday expressed the importance of addressing the longstanding mistrust of medical professionals by the Black community, especially as more COVID-19 vaccine doses become available. During Mayor Greg Fischer's Martin Luther King Jr. Day virtual panel discussion about COVID-19's disproportionate impact on the Black community, he said the city prioritized underserved communities by setting up more COVID-19 testing sites in those areas. Vaccinations will be prioritized for those most at risk of complications, taking into consideration race, he said. While mortality rates tied to the coronavirus are proportionate to the city's population of Black residents, the infection rate is 25% to 30% higher than that of white residents, Fischer said. (Kachmar, 1/18)

Politico: Who Is ‘Essential’? Food And Farm Workers Left In Limbo In Vaccine Priorities 
The nation’s food workers, hit hard by Covid-19 infections throughout the crisis, are finding resistance in the race to get vaccinated. The industry is clamoring to prioritize frontline food workers who kept Americans fed throughout the worst of the pandemic even as thousands of them fell sick and hundreds died. But limited doses and a haphazard patchwork of distribution plans are leading to fears that thousands more workers will get hit — potentially stymieing food production in the coming weeks and months. (Bustillo and McCrimmon, 1/17)