California has trailed much of the country in COVID-19 vaccine distribution, but last week, thanks to my friend Jason Madiedo, my wife, son and I all received our first dose of the Pfizer vaccine in Las Vegas. We were driving from Colorado Springs to San Diego and stopped in Las Vegas to get vaccinated. It was a big set-up at the Las Vegas Convention Center. FEMA and the National Guard were present. The experience was impressive and comforting. We were in and out in 30 minutes and fortunately none of us had any side effects. We all had COVID in January and now that we are in the middle of completing the vaccination process, I’m feeling pretty safe. Governor Newsom says that all adults in California will be able to get vaccinated by mid-April, and many other states have set similar dates. While the vaccines are not 100% effective, they seem to be close to 100% in preventing serious illness. In other words, none of the handful of vaccinated people who have acquired the virus have required hospitalization or have died. The vaccines also appear to be effective against the variant strains – at least thus far.
If these data points hold true, the vaccines for COVID-19 will be among the most effective in the history of vaccines – and if enough people choose to get vaccinated, we could achieve herd immunity in the United States by mid-May or early June. Of course, we all hope it turns out this way. I also know that a lot of people have had concerns about the safety of the vaccines. No vaccine in history has ever been completed and approved in shorter time, and the internet is full of crazy stories, but the vaccines have been distributed in the four corners of the globe, and there have been very few reasons for concern. Some people worry about the long-term effects of the vaccine. To that I can only say vaccines have been around for a long time and while there have been many side effects, they always have surfaced in the near-term and there has never been a credible story about any long-term effects. It recently was revealed that Donald and Melania Trump received their vaccines in January, and were among the first in the country to receive it. I can only speculate why he chose to keep it a secret, but he recently confirmed that he is indeed vaccinated. Receiving the COVID-19 vaccination is not a political statement, it’s a personal health decision that should have nothing to do with politics. The choice is yours, but the fact is if we can’t get 80% of our population to get vaccinated, we may be living with this virus for a lot longer than we hoped.
There are qualities in our community that no data point can fully capture, but this episode is about one of the biggest: grit. I talk about why perseverance, resilience, family, and purpose have always been among the greatest strengths of Hispanics and Latinos, and why those strengths can be a powerful advantage in a world being reshaped by technology, wealth, and access. But grit alone is not enough. If we want to translate all of that talent and determination into lasting economic and political power, we also need stronger networks, better platforms, and more intentional leadership. The opportunity is real. The question is whether we are ready to organize around it.
For years, we’ve been told that mass deportations would mean more jobs and higher wages for U.S.-born workers. But this episode looks at why the opposite may actually be happening. I break down new research showing how immigrant and U.S.-born workers often play complementary roles in the labor market, why removing one group can hurt the other, and how these policies may be making labor shortages, housing challenges, and economic instability even worse. This is a conversation about jobs, economics, and the unintended consequences too many people still refuse to confront.
Something important is shifting, and this episode is about why it matters. For a young and fast-growing community like ours, the rise of AI may be opening doors that were previously harder to reach — not by eliminating every barrier, but by expanding access to knowledge, tools, and opportunity at a scale we’ve never seen before. But access alone won’t determine who wins. This moment calls for strategy, community, and a serious commitment to turning potential into power. The opening is real. What happens next depends on what we do with it.