One RI Mayor Is Going House by House to Convince Residents to Get Vaccinated But Some Are Resistant
Friday, April 16, 2021
There may be no official in Rhode Island — or maybe the country — who is more active in the effort to vaccinate residents and fight vaccine hesitancy.
The news is not always good. Many in her city are reluctant, especially since the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was “paused” by federal agencies this week.
Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera this week along with members of the City Council went door-to-door, talking one-on-one with city residents about the need to get vaccinated.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTShe is battling to get her city — one of the hardest-hit communities in the country — on the path to recovery.
Rivera, who was been to every community clinic in her city and helped vaccinate thousands of city residents said, “The numbers are dwindling to get vaccinated. Some people don’t trust the vaccines.”
She said that one night this week, she and her team were able to register 49 people, but said about 30 others said no to vaccination.
“We met two girls who told me ‘we heard there is covid in the vaccine.’ We were able to turn them around and they registered, but it is person by person,” said Rivera.
But she said they are having trouble convincing young men to get vaccinated. She said that Dr. Michael Fine who works with the City has been critical to helping to explain the science to residents.
Vaccination Hesitancy in Rhode Island and Across the Country
According to the State’s vaccination leader, the demand for vaccinations may be beginning to drop across the state although the convoluted state structure may also be a cause.
A tweet by RI Department of Health, “Tom McCarthy: Vaccination sites are starting to see more no-shows and last-minute cancellations. This may be because people are getting multiple appointments and forgetting to cancel the ones they aren’t using or cancelling at the last minute. Please cancel as early as possible.”
Rhode Island's vaccine registration system is not coordinated with the online sign-up systems of vendors like CVS and Walgreens forcing residents to jump from website to website to try and register for an appointment.
According to a range of polls, more and more Americans were becoming more and more comfortable with getting vaccinated. According to research published in March, approximately 70% of Americans were ready to get vaccinated, but that was before the issue relating to Johnson & Johnson became public and the vaccine was paused.
Rivera Says RI Needs to Take Vaccine to Residents
"I need to continue to work. People need to trust the vaccine," Rivera told GoLocal.
She said if she had vans with teams of vaccinators, EMTs and observers -- and those could go house by house -- that it would augment the clinics and helped to overcome reluctance.
"If I had vans going to the people, it would make all the difference especially for older residents," said Rivera.
According to Rivera, approximately 51% of Central Falls residents have received one dose and 38% have received two.
"I cannot wait to get our residents vaccinated. I need to get people healthy," said Rivera.
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