Comite Civico encourages Imperial Valley to get vaccinated

Comite Civico wants people to know the vaccine is safe - 13 On Your Side's Vince Ybarra reports

IMPERIAL, Calif. (KECY, KYMA) - Comite Civico Del Valle is encouraging the Imperial Valley to ensure residents who want the COVID-19 vaccine can get it. 

The special program, Get Out The Vaccine (GOTV), was created over the course of two weeks. Volunteers recently hit the ground walking around neighborhoods in El Centro, Seely, Calipatria, and Westmoreland last week. 

Ana Luisa Pedrero, Manager for GOTV, says the team feels a responsibility to help the community. She looks at the bigger picture when it comes to getting the shot. 

“It’s very important because everyone wants to go back to normality,” said Pedrero. 

She hopes to get all of the Imperial Valley vaccinated— at least those who want to get vaccinated. 

There has been some pushback from residents, but she says the team tries to personalize the message and do their best to educate those who might resist getting the vaccine. 

“A lot of people still don’t believe in the vaccine, and so we try to give them the most information that we can,” said Pedrero. 

They have found success. In just three days, they helped ten people sign up for COVID-19 vaccines. 

Isamay Pasillas, an outreach specialist with GOTV, said part of their mission is to help with the spread of misinformation. 

“Misinformation is one of the biggest issues that we deal with. so It’s very important for us to kind of go in and help counter that information with accurate and the true information,” said Pasillas

GOTV meets before canvassing for the day. That's when they go over what areas they will target. They use a software called Political Data Inc. to help them map out where they need to canvas. The software also lets them know who to reach out to.

The GOTV team will continue to canvas for the next three months.