HITN Broadcasts “Vacunate Por Todos” Exclusive Program Addressing Common Vaccine Concerns and Questions Among the Latino Community

The one-hour special program "Vacúnate Por Todos" will be presented by internationally recognized news anchor and award-winning journalist Maria Elena Salinas and Vida Y Salud’s Editor in Chief Dr. Aliza Lifshitz joined by health expert and investigator Dr. Carlos del Rio and Public Information Officer for California’s Task force, Yurina Melara Valiulis on Thursday, June 24 at 7pm ET/PT

HITN, the leading Spanish-language network that provides educational and entertainment content to more than 44 million U.S. households, will air “Vacunate Por Todos” during primetime on HITN-TV on Thursday, June 24 at 7 PM ET/PT. This special program will address COVID-19 vaccine inaccuracies and current distrust in the Latino community; providing the most up to date information about the importance of getting vaccinated and examine which vaccines are available in the US along with the safety of each vaccine.

María Elena Salinas, one of the most recognized Hispanic female journalists in the United States, with a close to 40-year trajectory and winner of Emmy and Peabody awards for her excellence in coverage of elections, natural disasters, armed conflicts and interviews with acclaimed international artists and personalities, kicks off “Vacunate Por Todos” alongside Dr. Aliza A. Lifshitz, Editorial Director of HITN’s Health and Wellness Program ‘Vida y Salud’ and recognized as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics by the Hispanic Business Magazine. Amid the current ongoing hesitance in the Latino Community to access the COVID-19 vaccine, the program aims to arm Spanish speaking families with accurate information and supported research data to calm fears and doubts regarding COVID-19 vaccine myths and distrust. The panel will feature Dr. Carlos del Rio, chief expert in the medical investigation field who is presently centerstage in the research area of the pandemic to discuss the differences between the vaccines available in the United States and share the latest data on COVID-19 vaccination rates among the Latino community.

According to the COVID Data Tracker by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 57% of those vaccinated shared their race/ethnicity. Out of said number, only 15% were Latino. However, in the last two weeks, 3 out of 10 vaccinations have gone to Latino residents in an effort to raise the numbers. Some of the obstacles that prevented the Latino community from getting vaccinated include fear of missing work due to side effects, the possible cost of vaccinations, immigration status, and unsolved questions around the vaccination program and individual vaccines. Some of the most recurrent questions raised around vaccines that the panel covers in the one-hour special are, “Why are the numbers of Latinos vaccinated so low? Is it out of fear or information? How long does immunity last? Will people need a third dose? Is it safe to vaccinate our children? Do the available vaccines protect against all variants of the virus?”

As leading expert in the field, Dr. Carlos del Rio is a distinguished Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Emory University School of Medicine and Executive Associate Dean for Emory at Grady. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. del Rio has led in research, developed policies, wrote scientific publications, and made countless media appearances as well as advising municipal, state, and national leaders on best practices and steps.

Lastly, Yurina Melara Valiulis, the lead Spanish spokesperson and Public Information Officer II for California’s Vaccination Task Force focuses on sharing precise statistics that concern the Latino community to understand the relevance of the population’s vaccination.

Hosting “Vacunate Por Todos” from the city of Miami, Maria Elena Salinas and Dr. Aliza A. Lifshitz will connect with Dr. Carlos del Rio and Yurina Melara Valiulis, situated in the hubs of Atlanta and Los Angeles, as well as show public surveys conducted with Latino residents concerning vaccination knowledge and continuing circling myths around it on the streets of New York and LA.

HITN will broadcast the one-hour special on Thursday, June 24 at primetime 7 pm ET/4 pm PT, and feature a rerun on Thursday, June 24 at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT.

To learn more about “Vacunate Por Todos”, visit https://hitn.tv/vacunate

HITN-TV is a leading Spanish-language media company that offers educational and cultural programming for the whole family. It reaches more than 44 million homes in the US and Puerto Rico via DIRECTV, AT&T U-verse, AT&T TV, DISH Network, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast Xfinity, Charter Spectrum, Mediacom, CenturyLink Prism and Altice, Liberty Cable & Claro (Puerto Rico). Download the “HITN GO” Everywhere App available on Apple, Android, Apple TV and Roku® with a cable subscription. For more information visit: www.hitn.org and follow @HITNtv on social platforms.

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