Oklahoma's Vaccine Scheduler Portal Now Available In Spanish, Breaks Language Barrier

On Tuesday, the state's Vaccine Scheduler Portal became available in Spanish.

Some in the Hispanic community say this is crucial in breaking the language barrier.

Others say they didn't even know what the portal was.

"It has to do more with the language barrier. I feel like this is a life or death situation for people," OU nurse Blanca Charles says. 

OU nurse Blanca Charles says she feels the language barrier has caused inequity for Hispanics during the pandemic.

The 2019 U.S. Census says Hispanics make up 16 percent of Tulsa's population, making them the biggest minority group.

In 2020, the CDC reported between May and August, 24 percent of the people who died from COVID were Hispanic. 

"The disparities are there; they've always been there," Charles says. "This didn't happen overnight, but I think it wasn't until COVID that things started getting exposed."

Yadira Paz is an Honduran Immigrant who came to Tulsa five years ago.

She says if the portal would have been accessible to Spanish speakers earlier, it would have helped tremendously. 

"I think that had to have been done since the start," Paz says. "Because there are a lot of people that, even though they arrive in the city, they don't have the language yet." 

Paz says Hispanic immigrants culturally aren't ones to reach out for help and says that unease comes from something deeper. 

"A lot of Hispanic communities come here and, unfortunately, don't have legal documents," Paz says. "So, what predominates is fear."

Since the portal became available in Spanish, the City of Tulsa says over 350 people have signed up to get the vaccine.