WhatsApp and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a new partnership on Monday that will help Spanish-speaking individuals find vaccination sites. 

What You Need To Know

  • WhatsApp and the CDC are partnering on a new Spanish-language vaccine chat for users to get up-to-date information on COVID-19 vaccines

  • The new vaccine finder — called “Mi chat sobre vacunas COVID,” or “My chat about COVID vaccines" — can be accessed through WhatsApp by testing “hola” to a specific link or QR code

  • The partnership comes amid President Joe Biden’s month long push to get 70% of adult Americans at least one COVID shot by Independence Day

“We’re honored by the opportunity to support the U.S. government’s sprint to get more Americans vaccinated for COVID-19 before the July 4 holiday, or as soon as they are able to do so,” the social communication company wrote in a statement.

The new vaccine finder — called “Mi chat sobre vacunas COVID,” or “My chat about COVID vaccines — can be accessed through WhatsApp by testing “hola” to a specific link or QR code. Once prompted, the WhatsApp user can choose between locating vaccination sites near them, receiving more information about the COVID-19 vaccines or sharing the service with others. 

 

Users can get texted answers, verified by the CDC, about topics ranging from why it’s important to get vaccinated, common side effects and the history of how the three domestically-authorized vaccines received emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration. 

The partnership comes amid President Joe Biden’s month long push to get 70% of adult Americans at least one COVID shot by Independence Day, a goal the administration admitted is likely unattainable. 

Still, the White House doesn’t plan on giving up the push to vaccinate as many Americans as possible. Around 65% of adult Americans have received at least one shot, and a little over 55% of adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

But across the U.S., a lack of vaccine access and distrust of the medical field within minority communities has made it harder to vaccinate those populations.

According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, Black and Latino communities nationwide receive “smaller shares of vaccinations compared to their shares of cases and compared to their shares of the total population in most states.” 

In Colorado, where Hispanic people make up 20% of the statewide population, less than 10% have been vaccinated, according to the state’s vaccine dashboard. 

In California, whose population is roughly 40% Hispanic or Latino, only 29% of vaccinations have gone to Hispanic people.

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services said recent data from the CDC showed that Latino populations had received a higher proportion of administered vaccine doses in the last two weeks, hopefully narrowing the disparity in administered vaccines in the weeks to come. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.