“The vaccine is not required” was mistakenly translated as “the vaccine is not necessary” on the Spanish-language version of the Virginia Department of Health’s COVID-19 vaccine FAQ page for nearly a month.
It’s fixed now, but the error – embarrassing beyond belief – has the attention of Jennifer Carroll Foy, a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for governor.
“The Latinx community cannot be left behind as Virginia responds to COVID-19,” said Carroll Foy, a former member of the House of Delegates, who on Tuesday released a four-part plan to ensure stronger communication with the Latinx community about COVID-19.
“As governor, I pledge to ensure that Spanish speaking communities have robust resources to stay safe from COVID-19 and have access to proper, accurate information to protect themselves and their families. Anything less is unacceptable,” Carroll Foy said.
The proposal from Carroll Foy
Create a list of approved, certified native-speaking translation vendors who come from the communities they serve and require all translated public notices to use those services.
Fund bilingual, in-house employees from immigrant communities in state agencies.
Prioritize vaccine distribution in the hardest-hit communities and dedicate resources for outreach including text programs and bilingual radio ads to meet community members where they are.
Ensure that not only public health information is correctly translated, but also that labor, workers compensation, and harassment rights are translated correctly and proactively communicated, especially to workers in the domestic care, home healthcare, and construction workforces.
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Chris Graham
