Los Angeles, April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The ¡Ándale! ¿Qué Esperas? campaign by AltaMed Health Services partnered with Grupo Chespirito to produce a PSA featuring the iconic characters of Chespirito’s El Chavo Animado for parents who have not yet vaccinated their children.
In California, just 31.8 percent of children between five and twelve-years old are fully vaccinated, leaving almost 2.2 million children in the state who have yet to receive a single dose. Studies show that this pandemic hit Latinos families the hardest, and it is understandable that both parents and children may have questions and hesitancy about the vaccine. That is why El Chavo and the ¡Ándale! ¿Qué Esperas? will help educate both parents and children to learn more about the benefits of the vaccine.
Grupo Chespirito Producer and Executive Director, Roberto Gómez Fernández, son of the show’s creator said, “It is a great honor for me and for Grupo Chespirito to participate in social welfare campaigns like this. I am overjoyed to be able share this life-saving vaccination message through El Chavo and its beloved neighborhood characters. I am certain that by adding El Chavo’s voice to this cause, it will help increase community participation in AltaMed’s vaccination campaign, and help their efforts be even more successful. Like El Chavo, you too can make an appointment to get vaccinated. ¡Ándale! ¿Qué Esperas?”
Despite the number of COVID-19 cases dwindling across the state, communities of color continue to be the most impacted by COVID-19 and its variants. In an effort to tackle these issues in a culturally relevant way, the ¡Ándale! Qué Esperas? campaign and Chespirito launched the El Chavo animated PSA in California’s top five Latino markets, which premiered on Sat., Mar. 26 during the sold-out Chivas Guadalajara vs. Club Leon soccer match on Primetime Sports and Entertainment at PayPal Park in San Jose.
For over fifty years, the legendary Mexican series has appealed to both children and adults through generations, across cultures, income levels, and countries through its family-friendly and culturally relevant slapstick comedy. At the height of the show's popularity, it was seen by an estimated 350 million viewers weekly.
It is this deep cultural impact that led the ¡Ándale! ¿Qué Esperas? campaign to this partnership with El Chavo. Through these trusted voices and characters, the ¡Ándale! ¿Qué Esperas? campaign seeks to ease the fears of parents and children and encourage families to protect themselves by getting vaccinated.
“As a pediatrician, I know firsthand that people are tired of hearing about COVID-19, but this is not the time to let down our guard. People are still getting sick, and there is still a great deal of misinformation about the vaccine,” said Dr. Ilan Shapiro, Senior Vice President, Chief Health Correspondent, and Medical Affairs Officer for AltaMed Health Services. “The purpose of this partnership with El Chavo is to help dispel some of these myths among our community.”
The lifting of mandates caused confusion among parents with small children. While the public at large is ditching their masks and moving towards some sense of normalcy, the Centers for Disease Control has found that a record number of children under five years of age were hospitalized during the Omicron surge. This finding underscores the need to vaccinate young children before the next variant develops and puts them and their communities at even further risk.
You can view and download the full :60 and :30 PSAs here: https://bit.ly/3u7gRGo
About ¡Ándale! ¿Qué Esperas?
¡Ándale! ¿Qué Esperas? is a statewide multigenerational COVID-19 vaccine outreach campaign intended to reach 4.45 million Latinos through a culturally relevant public education campaign and 2.25 million Latinos through direct community outreach efforts in California.
AltaMed Health Services launched the ¡Ándale! ¿Qué Esperas? Campaign in partnership with San Ysidro Health in San Diego County, Clinica de la Raza serving Alameda and Solano Counties, Latino Health Access in Orange County, Golden Valley Health Centers serving Merced and Stanislaus Counties, the My Community, My Health Coalition in Los Angeles County, and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. More information can be found at andalequeesperas.com and through social media @andalequeespera on Twitter and Andale Que Esperas on Facebook.
To schedule an appointment, you can visit our website or call (855) YA-ANDALE.
This campaign is supported by the Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $11,169,570 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
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