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Central Valley Latinos are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Health Net launches billboard campaign as a reminder to wear a mask.

Date: 10/22/20

The numbers don't lie. California is home to hundreds of thousands of farm workers. These essential workers are mostly Latino. However, while Latinos are nearly 40% of California's population, they account for 61% of COVID-19 cases1. The pace of new cases are not slowing down as fast as health experts had hoped. So, Health Net joined the effort to improve these numbers. The company has teamed with local California counties to educate Central Valley Latinos who have disproportionately been affected by COVID-19.

Central Valley residents can now see billboards across Sacramento, San Joaquin, Kern, Stanislaus and Tulare counties. The billboards, primarily in Spanish, feature the slogan, "La Solidaridad es Sencilla: Usa Mascarilla. Venzamos al COVID-19." In English, that's, "Solardarity is Simple. Wear a Mask. Defeat COVID-19."

Although we've seen similar campaigns on television and billboards, most are not in Spanish. That's key because 10 million Californians live in households that primarily speak Spanish2. The new billboards will get this important message across in the language that the community speaks most often.

"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact in Latino communities," said Brian Ternan, President and CEO of Health Net of California and California Health and Wellness. "This campaign aims to support the existing efforts of so many key organizations that are all working to continue to bend the growth curve of this virus, especially for our Latino families."

Health Net is dedicated to transform the health of the community, one person at a time. The new COVID-19 Awareness billboards will aim to prevent the amount of COVID-19 cases, one driver at a time. Visit Health Net's COVID-19 webpage for updates and alerts for members.

To learn more about Health Net in the Community you can also follow us on social via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

REFERENCES

1 COVID-19 Race and Ethnicity Data. California Department of Public Health. October 13, 2020.
2 Quick Facts: California. United States Census Bureau. July 1, 2019.



Last Updated: 05/17/2022