Code blue! Implementing a COVID-19 emergency response, supported by an HIV community program: Communities without borders, a Spanish-Speaking intervention in Toronto, Canada

Abstract

COVID-19 a new infections agent took the world by surprise. Governments, medical systems, communities, and individuals soon would become familiar with many new terms and many new prevention measurements to avoid infection. To this day, it is unknown what would be the final consequences and impact in populations in the world, how those came to be a “new normal” in our daily lives. Also, it is unknown the number of victims, and economical after-effects result from the new pandemic. This article aims to establish a para parallel in relation to the early days of HIV/AIDS in the world. Keeping in mind the slow governmental, and even irresponsible response in different countries, both cases (HIV/AIDS-COVID-19), present a dimension that shows intermediately from HIV/AIDS organizations response to help communities. The article argues that is precise because we have learned as marginalized communities that reacted at the beginning of the AIDS early days, that HIV/AIDS educators adapted very fast interventions, programs, and counseling to alleviate societal effect pandemic against COVID-19 new infections.

Keywords:

• First responses
• behavioral model
• immigrant’s vulnerabilities
• Hispanic communities
• AIDS/HIV
• pandemic
• sexual health model
• health literacy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).