The COVID-19 pandemic has not only exacerbated and exposed long-standing health and social inequities in the Latino community, it has also caused additional fear, mistrust and concern, especially among undocumented people. More than catching the virus itself, undocumented Latinos fear job loss, eviction and deportation.

According to Kathleen Page, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, fear has been one of the main drivers for Latinos in delaying or not seeking medical attention during the pandemic. “Language barriers, misinformation, the need to work, anti-immigrant policies and limited access to care have fueled this fear,” says Page.

Through months of working with the Latino community in Baltimore, her experiences serve as lessons to help battle misinformation and rebuild trust. She says bridging the language gap is crucial. Page and other colleagues established Juntos, a team of bilingual volunteer nurses, physicians and social workers who meet with Latino patients and families. “Spanish-speaking patients felt they could open up to us and relayed their fears because we spoke their language,” says Page. This initiative led to Juntos Contra COVID-19 (“Together Against COVID-19”), a Johns Hopkins Medicine public health campaign to educate the Latino community about the impact and seriousness of COVID-19, and the creation of a Spanish-language COVID-19 resources web portal.

However, language barriers aren’t the only obstacle. Even as testing became more available, Latinos aren’t getting tested as they fear that a positive result could lead to job loss, and they worry about the high cost of care. “Patients were relieved when we told them their care was covered through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and we learned the importance of providing this information,” says Page. She also stresses the importance of hospitals and academic institutions encouraging undocumented immigrants to seek care by clearly communicating that health care workers don’t cooperate with immigration authorities.

Page, who is available for interviews, dives into the challenges that undocumented Latinos have faced during the pandemic and the lessons learned in a perspective article published Oct. 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine.