Protecting Essential Workers from COVID-19: Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center

Health Centers On The Front Lines

Many of the nation’s essential workers – who didn’t have the option of working from home during the pandemic -- rely on Community Health Centers for health care. Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center in Oregon is the medical home for these workers, with a long history of serving agricultural workers and their families. As one of the first health centers in the state to receive vaccines directly from the federal government, Virginia Garcia took vaccines to the migrant worker camps and partnered with community groups to vaccinate other marginalized populations. We talk with Virginia Garcia about what’s working and what challenges remain in their effort to close the gap in the vaccination rate between the Latinx and Hispanic community and the rest of the population.