Manatee County part of effort to overcome concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine
Thousands of people every day are trying to get an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine.
They log onto Publix’s website in the early hours of the morning; they track county updates to see how long before their number comes up; they pray someone picks their name in a lottery.
It is so tough that earlier this week a world-famous author had to drive more than 100 miles, across three counties, to get the vaccine.
But for all those clawing and fighting for that chance, there are tens of thousands of others who, for a variety of reasons, refuse to get vaccinated.
This reluctance worries public health officials who fear that the resistance to the vaccine could lead to more illness and could affect herd immunity, prolonging a pandemic that has killed nearly a half million people in United States and millions more around the world.
More:You've been vaccinated, so what next? Sarasota-Manatee experts say maintain precautions
“We are in unprecedented times as many of us have not experienced anything like this on such a global scale,” said Runa Badal, community health division director for the Florida Department of Health Manatee County.
“It is critical to understand that many people are scared and confused, and it is so very important to show empathy and to provide reassurance. In addition, they may not have correct information.”
The Florida Department of Health Manatee County is one of three health departments across the country that’s been chosen for a project to help battle misconceptions and to encourage people to get vaccinated.
This project, administered by the National Association of County and City Health Officials in Washington, DC, helps the health departments get the resources needed to address uncertainty about vaccines in at-risk populations or communities that are undervaccinated.
This includes funding to hire a consultant who will focus on tackling the issue of vaccine hesitancy and dealing with misinformation in the community, reaching out to local groups and finding ways to increase people’s confidence in vaccines.
More:Publix Super Markets to offer COVID-19 vaccine in Sarasota and Manatee counties
The program is designed to focus on all vaccines, though COVID-19 is front and center right now.
Michelle Cantu, director of infectious disease and immunization at the association, said when applying to be part of the project Manatee “made a strong case for the need to promote vaccine confidence and contain vaccine misinformation” and that it wanted to work with other organizations in the community to address the issue.
“Manatee clearly detailed their highly diverse community with specific identified at-risk populations within that community such as uninsured individuals, homeless populations, migrant workers and low-income families with school-age children,” she said.
“Their proposed project approach and focus exhibited an interest in reaching those communities and increasing vaccine uptake among those identified most at-risk.”
The other two health departments are in Seattle and King County in the state of Washington and Linn County in Iowa.
More:Manatee County vaccinating another 5,100 next week
“Our goal,” Badal said, “is to overcome misinformation, increase confidence about vaccination and create herd immunity across our community, especially at-risk populations such as those in homeless shelters and migrant programs.
“One thing is clear: The higher the viral load across populations, mutations can be generated and it is important that we are all protected.”
This effort is especially critical now when widespread adoption of the COVID-19 vaccine could have an immediate effect in slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
The issue of vaccine hesitancy is particularly troubling in Black communities where there is a historical distrust of vaccines and of the government.
A Pew Research study in December found that Black people were less inclined to get the vaccine than whites and Hispanics.
More:USF survey finds quarter of Americans suspicious of COVID-19 vaccine
The study found that 42% planned on getting vaccinated, compared with 61% of whites.
That’s despite the fact that Black people make up about 13% of the population but account for about 34% of total COVID-19 deaths in states that report racial data, according to Johns Hopkins University.
According to population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, 9.3% of Manatee residents are Black, but as of Thursday less than 2% of the 35,519 people vaccinated in the county were Black, according to state data.
Walter Harris Gavin is a 73-year-old Sarasota writer who got his vaccine at Sarasota Square Mall Wednesday.
He was there for an hour and said, “I was the only Black person in the entire facility either in line or waiting to get my shot or actually receiving a shot.”
Gavin believes more work needs to be done to get the message about the importance of the vaccine to people of color.
More:City of Sarasota gets preliminary green light to hold mass COVID-19 vaccination at Van Wezel
According to Census figures, 4.7% of Sarasota residents are Black. But state data shows that less than 1% of the 56,923 people vaccinated so far were Black.
Gavin said the key is that the message must be communicated in a way that actually reaches the people who need to hear it.
He quotes author and advertising legend Tom Burrell who said, “Black folks are not dark-skinned white people.”
“There is a need, I believe,” Gavin said, “to present this perspective to policymakers at every level to give it consideration when designing what must be an effective outreach campaign to counter vaccine hesitancy within the (Black, Indigenous and people of color) community, as all of America’s lives and livelihoods are dependent upon as many folks as possible being vaccinated as soon as they are able.”
Cantu said one major goal of the project is combating misinformation.
She said that despite the success and strong safety record of vaccines, misinformation continues to pose a significant threat and that threat can have a profound effect. She said people not getting vaccinated creates an environment where vaccine-preventable diseases spread quickly.
More:Sarasota County holding COVID-19 vaccination 'pop-up' in Venice this week
“We see social media cracking down on mis- and disinformation such as Facebook and Twitter,” Cantu said. “Additionally, ensuring the public has access to credible sources such as the CDC when they are seeking information, and working with trusted community organizations, health care centers, faith-based organizations, schools, promoters and equipping them with this information to further share and promote to their communities.”
Badal agrees and says that while there is one common message that vaccines are the best defense to fight infectious diseases, “a tailored message and ways to deliver that message to different communities are important.”
The hesitancy project will help to address that, she said, by translating messaging about the importance of vaccinations into various languages and making sure the message gets out to the public through social media and community events.
But communication isn’t the only issue keeping people from getting vaccinated. There’s a lack of access to technology needed to make appointments and get updates, concern about transportation to vaccination clinics and a lack of information in underserved communities.
One of the main goals of the project, Badal said, is to address all of those problems in order to reach people living in the community as well as those who are often overlooked, such as immigrants and the homeless.
More:Waiting for a vaccine appointment in Sarasota County? Now you can know your place in line
As Manatee moves forward with the project, Badal can push the messaging from a place of experience and be someone that the community can relate to.
Badal is Trinidadian and, as a woman of color, worried about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. So she researched clinical studies that looked at safety standards and got comfortable with the science.
But even then, one hurdle remained, and one more example she could set.
It turns out that Badal, who is tasked is with making sure people in Manatee County are properly vaccinated and safe, suffers from a condition that affects millions of around the world.
She’s terrified of needles.
“The professionals giving the vaccine are truly amazing and are compassionate about individuals being scared of needles,” she said. “Then, it was over before I even knew it.”
This story comes from Aspirations Journalism, an initiative of The Patterson Foundation and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune to inform, inspire and engage the community to take action on issues related to Conquering COVID.
Latest vaccine numbers
As of 12:05 a.m. Friday:
Florida: 2.25 million had been vaccinated. Of those, 963,004 had received the second dose.
Sarasota County: 57,854 people had been vaccinated. Of those, 23,504 had received the second dose.
Manatee County: 36,765 had been vaccinated. Of those, 15,537 had received the second dose.
Waiting in line in Sarasota County: As of Friday, vaccinations were scheduled up to number 19,460.