Christian Carlos
In collaboration with the Director of Special Projects of the Latino Community Foundation, Diana A. Otero, a talk was held with Dr. Estela Hernandez, from the Emergency Department at Contra Costa Regional. Otero, a talk was held with Dr. Estela Hernandez, from the Emergency Department at Contra Costa Regional. Hernandez is a Mexican physician who completed her medical studies at the University of California at Davis.
During thirty minutes of broadcast, Diana Otero addressed with Dr. Estela Hernandez the new problems faced by countries facing the arrival of a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that has its origin in 2019 and that located in the central region of the Chinese city of Wuhan. The new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is causing the disease COVID-19 and, one of the treatments effects against the disease are the vaccines that entered into development since early 2020.
Omicron, Dr. Hernandez noted, "is a new mutation" of the coronavirus. "Perhaps if more people were vaccinated, we wouldn't have this new variant," she said. In addition, Hernandez warned, other variants are expected to arrive if this trend continues.
Dr. Hernandez noted that the symptoms of COVID-19 have remained the same since the discovery of the disease: fever, cough and shortness of breath.
Regarding requiring a booster of the COVID-19 vaccine, Hernandez said the booster "is important to protect more people. He said the vaccines "help prevent severe infections, hospitalizations and death" from coronavirus.
Diana Otero pointed out that there is reluctance in the Latino community toward the vaccine, to which Dr. Estela Hernandez said it is because "they have information that is not correct" and tried to dissuade what she called "false information from social media."
According to Dr. Estela Hernandez, a small preliminary study showed that "two doses protect from 70% to 80%" of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. She noted that while the population should opt for vaccine treatment, the vaccine protects only severe cases of COVID-19.
Otero highlighted the work of different institutions in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 and its new variants and called on the remaining Latino population -- 6 million people -- to get vaccinated.
Dr. Hernandez recommended that, to stay healthy, you should eat a balanced diet, get plenty of sleep, exercise, not smoke and keep alcohol consumption to a minimum.
Finally, the Latino Community Foundation is making available 1 (800) 422 4255 and the myturn.ca.gov website for the remaining population that has not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19.
