Mauro Ortiz had planned to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but work always got in the way. Plus, the 45-year-old Denver resident, who tows vehicles for a living, had tested positive for the virus twice over the course of the pandemic, but never felt sick. So getting the shot didn’t seem worthwhile.
But during a recent visit to Saint Michael the Archangel Church in Aurora, Ortiz had a change of heart. Towards the end of the Sunday service, Julissa Soto, an independent health equity consultant working to improve vaccination rates among Hispanic Coloradans, stepped up to the microphone.
“COVID is not going away; COVID is like that ex-husband or ex-wife,” Soto joked to the congregation. Which is why, she continued in a more serious tone, we have to protect ourselves. And getting the COVID-19 vaccine is one way to do so.