Clinic Takes Vaccines to Community

Jesus Vasquez was as brave as a 2-year-old can be as a nurse plunged a needle into his pudgy arm Sunday during a free immunization clinic at the San Fernando Gardens housing project in Pacoima.

Minutes before, the wide-eyed toddler watched his 6-year-old sister, Maria, wince and cry as she got her shots. But when his turn came, Jesus’ lower lip quivered only slightly as vaccines for everything from polio to meningitis coursed into his veins.

And then he got candy.

Several hundred children showed up for Sunday’s free inoculations, offered by the San Fernando Valley Unity Coalition, a group of 60 nonprofit organizations formed after last year’s riots to bring more social services to the poor.

The vaccine was donated and local nurses volunteered their time.

Organizers hope that Sunday’s clinic will be the first of several offered in poor areas throughout the Valley in coming months. Los Angeles County officials estimate that only about 42% of the region’s 2-year-olds have received appropriate vaccinations.

“It’s those kids 2 and under that we are really worried about,” said Corinne Sanchez, president of El Proyecto del Barrio, the group overseeing Sunday’s vaccinations. “But we won’t turn anyone away.”

Indeed, some parents Sunday were vaccinated right alongside their children.

It can be especially difficult for poor immigrant families to get proper vaccinations. Some fear deportation. Others are unable to get to medical facilities. And some are discouraged by long waiting room delays that can mean taking an entire day off work.

By taking the clinic to the residents who most need it, organizers said they hope that more people will bring their children to be immunized. More than 400 children under age 5 live in the housing project.

Elizabeth Delgadillo, 19, of San Fernando said she has spent more than two hours waiting for a doctor in local clinics. But on Sunday, her 20-month-old daughter, Carmen Gurrola, got her shots and a tuberculosis test in less than an hour.

“Right here, it’s neat because my mother just lives right over there,” said 20-year-old Alicia Vasquez, Jesus and Maria’s older sister, as she waited in the project’s community center.

Residents of the project helped organize Sunday’s clinic and Sanchez said her coalition wants to coordinate other services for the community center. “We will do whatever the residents want,” she said.