EMBARC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Education Reaches New York
Phoebe Lay, who teaches citizenship classes in Syracuse, New York, showed EMBARC’s videos on the COVID-19 vaccine to students hesitant about making appointments.
Although EMBARC serves refugees and immigrants across Iowa, our reach doesn’t stop at the state borders. In fact, refugees in Syracuse, New York—more than a thousand miles from Des Moines—connected with COVID-19 vaccine information through EMBARC’s Youtube videos. After hearing the facts in Karenni, their native language, a handful of refugees were motivated to seek out vaccine appointments.
Each week, EMBARC releases two videos with news and information relevant to immigrants and refugees. Each video is interpreted in nine different languages by fluent speakers from local refugee and immigrant communities. A January video on COVID-19 vaccines, produced in partnership with the Polk County Health Department, addressed common questions and myths about vaccine safety, efficacy, and dosage.
Phoebe Lay, who teaches citizenship preparation classes in Syracuse for Catholic Charities - Northside CYO through the FrancisCorps program, says she found EMBARC’s videos after searching for online resources for clients that speak Karenni. Lay’s organization has been connecting clients with vaccine appointments, but it has been difficult explaining the intricacies of the vaccines to clients who aren’t native English speakers.
“Honestly, EMBARC had the only videos in Karenni that were exactly what I was looking for, in terms of explaining the vaccine and having answers to a lot of the questions that have been asked,” Lay said.
“It was just very helpful for our clients to understand and get another perspective from someone that speaks their language.”
At first, many of Lay’s clients were hesitant about receiving the vaccine, she says, but discussions in class helped ease their concerns. After showing the EMBARC video in class, several clients who speak Karenni signed up for COVID-19 vaccine appointments.
The need for information in the Karenni language extends throughout Iowa, New York, and beyond. Although the Syracuse area has had an influx of refugees from Burma, translation services in minority languages like Karenni have not yet caught up.
To help her clients overcome the language barrier, Lay has worked on creating translated videos on topics like employment readiness.
“I understand how much work goes into putting these videos together and translating them,” Lay said. “That’s honestly why I reached out to EMBARC in the first place, because I knew how much work goes into these videos and I wanted to send my thanks. It’s super helpful and definitely worth it.”
Help EMBARC reach more refugees with COVID-19 vaccine outreach and other education information.