AUTHOR=Rangel Gómez María Gudelia , Alcocer Varela Jorge , Salazar Jiménez Saúl , Olivares Marín Leonardo , Rosales Cecilia 

TITLE=The impact of COVID-19 and access to health services in the Hispanic/Mexican population living in the United States

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.977792

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.977792

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=The United States is home to 10.5 million undocumented immigrants, and about 5 out 
of 10 are Mexican or Central American. Their immigration status is an obstacle to securing 
employment that provides labor benefits such as sick and annual leave as well as health 
insurance. Combine these barriers with a global pandemic, mental and health outcomes 
impact this vulnerable population as they lack health insurance coverage. Moreover, fear of 
accessing hospitals or primary care within the U.S. health care system, further exacerbates 
health and mental wellbeing. 
The Ventanillas de Salud (VDS) -Health Windows- introduced in 2003 by the 
Mexican government and housed within the Consular network in the United States, and the 
Mobile Health Units (UMS) of the Mexican Section of the United States-Mexico Border 
Health Commission (CSFMEU) since 2016, served to mitigate the impact of this pandemic. 
The development of this infrastructure presaged the COVID-19 events of the last two years.
Both programs have become an important source to support access to health services for the 
immigrant community by providing basic health screening, referral to health units, COVID19 education, and vaccination services. Between January 2020 and July 2021, the VDS and UMS have provided 11.5 million individual services to just over 4.3 million people.