WCAU And WWSI Hosting Bilingual Vaccine Phone Bank

WCAU and WWSI, the NBC and Telemundo stations in Philadelphia owned by NBCUniversal, are partnering with the New Jersey Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health to host a bilingual COVID-19 vaccine informational phone bank tomorrow, Wednesday, April 28, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Medical staff from the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Health Departments will be on hand to answer viewer questions and concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. Assistance will be available in both English and Spanish.

“As the Latino community continues to be underrepresented among those vaccinated for COVID-19,” says Elizabeth Flores, the stations’ VP of news, “our stations decided to partner with the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Health Departments to host a bilingual, informational phone bank.”

“Our goal is to help demystify fears and uncertainty about the vaccine to viewers by providing direct access to medical experts in English and Spanish.”

Following the two-hour phone bank, the stations will host a live, digital forum at 7 p.m. on Telemundo62.com and Facebook Live.

“The Department’s Call Center stands ready to assist Spanish-language and other callers to help register them and make appointments for vaccines in New Jersey as well as answer any questions they may have,” says Judith Persichilli, New Jersey Department of Health commissioner.

“We are committed to ensuring that anyone who lives, works or studies in New Jersey and wants the vaccine to be able to get one.”

“Good information leads to good decisions,” says Pennsylvania Department of Health Acting Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson, “so this partnership is another way we are equipping residents with accurate information to combat vaccine hesitancy and dispel any mistruths or rumors. We are eager to help answer any questions about the vaccine to instill confidence in the vaccination process and remind everyone that vaccines are safe, effective and bring us one step closer to ending this pandemic.”