Latinx Files: ‘Cheat codes’ hurting COVID vaccine rollout in Latinx and Black communities

On Monday, my colleague Julia Wick (who also writes the Essential California newsletter, which you should sign up for) reported that a California program aimed at closing the vaccination gap for Black and Latinx neighborhoods was being exploited by outsiders who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for the vaccine under current state guidelines.

The program created access codes that enabled members of these hard-hit groups to make appointments on the state’s vaccine scheduling website. But there was a problem. These codes ended up being shared via group texts and email chains with people who don’t belong to these communities.

Some of these individuals told The Times that they didn’t know that the code they received was intended for Black and Latinx communities, noting that nothing in the language of the text or email they received said anything about the program.

A 32-year-old white man who works in tech and lives in Berkeley said he found out what he had done only after receiving a push alert for Wick’s report while he was waiting in the recovery area after getting his first dose.

“It’s very confusing and perplexing how little information there is about this,” he said, asking to remain anonymous because a work contact had passed him the code.

“Nobody thinks they’re doing something wrong,” said another woman, who didn’t use the code but declined to give her name.

“They honestly have convinced themselves to believe that this is leftovers, that this is pilot testing, open to everyone.”

On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged the loophole.

“We’re going to go away from group codes to individual codes,” he said at a news conference. “We’re hopeful that we can work out the bugs.”

But as Times columnist Erika D. Smith notes, maybe these glitches in the system aren’t bugs at all, but actual features.

“What if the problem that needs solving by Newsom isn’t the order in which people can book their appointments online, but rather the fact that people have to get online at all?”

Smith goes on to point out that California’s vaccination system isn’t taking into account the digital divide that exists and disproportionately affects Black and Latinx neighborhoods. It’s the same technology gap that showed itself at the start of the pandemic when the L.A. Unified School District switched to online classrooms.

It’s not just California, either. Both of my parents were able to get vaccinated in Texas only because my tech-literate siblings ensured that our folks had appointments. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you have had to deal with the same issues.

Whether intentional or not, the system keeps failing Black and Latinx communities. The vaccine rollout in California is yet another example of this very harsh truth, and while incidents like these aren’t the sole reason white and wealthier areas in Los Angeles County have a higher share of their populations vaccinated than neighborhoods of color, they certainly don’t help.

Reader Jackie Cornejo remembers her father, Ricardo Cornejo, who died of COVID-19

The Latinx Files is dedicating space to readers who want to share memories of family members who have died because of COVID-19. I’ll be including these in the newsletter whenever I get them in my inbox. If you would like some space to grieve or share your own story, you can email me at latinxfiles@latimes.com.

I last held my father’s hand on Jan. 31, 2021, as he passed away from complications due to COVID-19 at 66. He was a father, husband, grandfather, son, brother, friend. To me, he was my hero. Prior to contracting COVID-19, he had fought a long hard battle with congestive heart failure and Type 2 diabetes. In 2016, when they told us he had only three months to live after a massive heart attack and a series of surgeries, our entire family committed to caring for him. My mother’s patience and love for him probably gave him the strength to exceed all expectations. Sadly, COVID-19 was what took him from us.

Ricardo Cornejo came to the U.S. in 1980 after a long and arduous journey from San Salvador, El Salvador, to Los Angeles. Soon afterward he met my mother, Martha, and made a life together. With hard work and sacrifice, they raised five children. Thanks to them, I was the first person in my family to attend college. One word to describe my father was selfless. He worked tirelessly to provide everything for us even when we lived in a cramped two-bedroom apartment, he helped out countless family and friends who made the journey north, and he eventually was able to buy a home in West Adams in 2003. He worked three jobs most of his life — as an electronics technician by day, as a pizza delivery driver in the evenings, and working the graveyard shift delivering the L.A. Times to his loyal customers in Cheviot Hills. As the eldest son (and second of six children), he made sure our family back home in El Salvador had everything they needed.

When he wasn’t working, he found time to resurrect appliances and electronics he’d find on the side of the road and to fix cars, and he loved classic rock. I can attribute my love of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac to weekend afternoons when my dad would be blasting his favorite songs from his record player and three-foot-tall speakers. We have fond memories of his driving all us kids to the Santa Barbara Mission or San Juan Capistrano to see the swallows around Lent. In his last several years, he lived a much more peaceful life, surrounded by dogs, watching documentaries and discussing politics. What a gift it was to be one of his caregivers. He taught us to be proud of our culture and language, to give generously, and to be independent and truth-seeking. He was a true warrior. I hope to continue to make him proud. Que descanses en paz, mi viejito.

Where are we with the stimulus checks?

We are more than a month into the Biden presidency, and Americans have yet to receive their much promised stimulus check. And while there’s still no set date on when these checks will be handed out, there is some progress: The House of Representatives is expected to approve a COVID-19 relief bill that includes a relief check that will give $1,400 per individual for those earning under $75,000 per year and for married couples earning less than $150,000. The amount of the check would be lesser the more money you make, and it would be capped for individuals earning more than $100,000 or couples earning more than $200,000.

Here’s the downside: The Senate still needs to vote on it and because of the political split, it’s very likely that they will come up with a different version of the bill. In other words, there’s no real timeline as to when you’ll get your stimmy.

There is a silver lining for Californians. On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a sweeping COVID-19 economic relief package that would provide help to millions. To find out if you or your family qualify, my colleague Patrick McGreevy put together this explainer.

Here are some stories we read this week that we think you should read

— My colleague Dorany Pineda wrote a feature on the Undocupoets, a “group fighting to end citizenship-based discrimination in poetry publishing and contests.” Not only have they successfully lobbied organizations to open up eligibility requirements to include people who have temporary legal status, but they’ve launched their own fellowship too.

— In his quest to dominate all forms of American media, Bad Bunny was not only the musical guest on the latest “Saturday Night Live,” but was also the feature in the “SNL” song sketch, “Loco.” Times staff writer Laura Zornosa has the details on how it all came together.

— Shoutout to Dr. Amara Aguilar and Allan Lopez of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism for tipping me off about Dímelo, a student-run media outlet that centers Latinx stories in their reporting. And a special shoutout to Dímelo editor and Times editorial assistant Frank Rojas, who put together this interactive map of places in Long Beach and Los Angeles that were significant to the life and career of Mexican artist Jenni Rivera. (Students and teachers: If you’d like to have your work featured in this space, email me at latinxfiles@latimes.com.)

— For the New Yorker, Ada Ferrer wrote a very heartbreaking and personal account about her half-brother Poly, who was left behind by her mother after she fled to the United States after the Cuban Revolution. Ferrer’s mother tried to bring her son with her, but his father was a member of the revolutionary police and would not let him leave.

— Today’s Column One, written by Soudi Jiménez of L.A. Times en Español, tells the story of Santa Ana High School student Cielo Echegoyén, and how helping her father and two men be freed from an immigration detention center played a role in being admitted to Harvard University.

— My L.A. Times en Español colleague Selene Rivera reported on the many challenges LGBTQ Latinxs have faced because of the pandemic.

“The help I have had has come from my transgender friends, but from the government I don’t know where to ask, since there is no specific help for my community,” Marimar, an undocumented transgender woman who came by herself from Veracruz, Mexico, to the United States in 1993 in search of work, told Rivera.

This story is an English translation. You can find the original Spanish version here.

The best thing on the Latinternet: The Ted Cruz piñata

Here’s a hot take: Piñatas are the original memes.

As evidence, I submit the above work of art depicting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz returning from Cancún after he was very publicly called out for crossing the border with his wife and children to seek refuge as millions of his constituents were without power and potable water for days because of a winter storm that crippled the Lone Star State’s infrastructure last week.

The piñata was created by Carlos and Elvie De La Fuente, owners of ABC Party in Dallas, and was made out of a desire to add some levity to a difficult period.

“After all we’ve been growing through, we needed a laugh,” Carlos De La Fuente told the Dallas Morning News. “Something to give us hope and something to give us relief after six days of miserable weather and people going through bad situations.”

This isn’t ABC Party’s first viral piñata. Back in January, they made one depicting a grumpy Sen. Bernie Sanders sitting at Biden’s inauguration.