As Washington County hits 80% vaccination rate for adults, Governor Kate Brown visits Adelante Mujeres during a vaccination event

Governor Kate Brown and Chair of Washington County, Kathryn Harrington, begin a tour of the Adelante Mujeres building with Bridget Cooke, Adelante Mujeres Executive Director.

In early September, Washington County became the first county in Oregon to vaccinate 80% of its adults. To celebrate this accomplishment, and to see the grassroots vaccination efforts in action, Governor Kate Brown and Chair of Washington County, Kathryn Harrington, visited Adelante Mujeres during a mobile vaccination event.

Collaborations with Washington County Public Health, healthcare partners, other community-based organizations, and trusted community leaders have been key to addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Governor Brown and Washington County vaccine clinic staff and volunteers.

Governor Brown and vaccine clinic staff and volunteers

Governor Brown talked with community members receiving the vaccine while an Adelante Mujeres Promotora, Gemma Balderas, provided translation support.

There is historical mistrust of medical institutions and medical practices among communities of color — because of disturbing, life-altering racist and unjust practices within the medical field. A symptom of this mistrust and continued institutional violence against communities of color is vaccine hesitancy. Misinformation about the vaccines, fear of losing jobs because of missed work, transportation barriers, and a variety of other reasons also contribute to vaccine hesitancy.

With a mission of empowering Latinas to lead and ensuring all families are thriving, Adelante Mujeres created its first cohort of ‘Promotores de Salud’ (Community Health Workers) in August of 2020 to respond to the growing needs of the community. Having peer voices and leaders is crucial to building trust. 

Adelante Mujeres staff provide training, volunteer opportunities, and leadership coaching, empowering participants to become local leaders — Promotores — in their community. And these Promotores have been key in helping get our community members vaccinated.

Gemma Balderas, Promotora, Kaely Summers, Health Equity Manager at Adelante Mujeres, and Francisca Perez, Promotora, at a Forest Grove Farmers Market mobile vaccine event in partnership with Washington County.

When vaccines became publicly available, Adelante Mujeres Promotores and staff helped call over 1,000 Adelante participants and community members to offer information and assistance finding vaccine appointments. 

Many of the Promotores have participated in other Adelante Mujeres programs and have been looking for ways to give back and exercise their leadership skills. So, for some Promotores, going down their call-list was like reaching out to fellow friends, neighbors, and classmates.

Promotores called, texted, emailed, and visited community members to spread accurate information, updates, and resources to promote the COVID vaccines. They registered people for appointments, offered transportation, explained the process, and answered their questions. And as new information emerged, the Promotores have continued to connect with community members to provide updates. 

At the weekly mobile COVID-19 vaccine events, operated by Washington County, Promotores provide a warm welcome to Spanish-speaking community members. The women answer questions, explain the process, and offer interpretation support to the vaccine staff and clients. Promotores also provide feedback and ideas to the county on how to improve vaccine outreach, services, and remove barriers for the Latinx community.

Rosario Echeverria, Adelante Mujeres Promotora, talks with Governor Brown about their work supporting vaccination efforts.

Gov. Brown talks with Gemma Balderas, Promotora, at the mobile vaccination event.

Gemma Balderas, Francisca Perez, Gov. Brown, Chair Harrington, Elvira Josafat, Rosario Echeverria, and Bridget Cooke.

Governor Brown talks with Promotores at the mobile vaccination event.

As Chair Harrington mentioned during the tour, strong community partnerships have allowed Washington County to reach over an 80% vaccination rate for adults. Adelante Mujeres is grateful for strong partners like Washington County, Virginia Garcia, CareOregon, OHSU, Providence, and Legacy, who have been essential to connect community members to life-saving resources and factual information. We are truly stronger together.

Following the Governor’s visit at the vaccination clinic, she toured the Adelante Mujeres building, including our Early Childhood Education classrooms and playground, the commercial kitchen, followed by some shopping inside Casa Qui, our new business incubator space.