Ascension town hall to discuss vaccine hesitancy
Vaccine hesitancy has become an issue and could be a roadblock in the state of Michigan’s efforts to vaccine 70% of the population 16 and over against the COVID-19 virus.
Ascension Michigan will host a virtual town hall on Thursday, March 18 from 7-8 p.m. to help citizens make informed decisions. The broadcast can be viewed on Ascension Michigan’s Facebook page.
“A large percentage of patients that are hesitant about the COVID vaccine base their decisions on the vaccine being new and not having enough information,” said Rony Foumia, area director for Continuity of Care, Pharmacy at Ascension Michigan.
“People don’t realize that none of the steps in the development of the vaccine were skipped. All three vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective and highly effective against preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death,” he added.
Vaccine hesitancy has developed from a number of social, cultural and personal factors, according to health experts.
The virtual town hall will be hosted by Carolyn Clifford, anchor at WXYZ. The panel will share personal experiences, address some of the misconceptions and share the benefits of receiving the vaccine.
Town hall panelists include: Rony Foumia; Dr. Ashley Erwin, family medicine physician, Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield;
Cynthia Taueg, vice president, Community Health, Ascension Michigan; and Bishop Edgar Vann, senior pastor, Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit.
Send questions for the panelists to melissa. thrasher1@ascension.org.
In Michigan, Ascension operates 16 hospitals and hundreds of related healthcare facilities that together employ more than 23,000 associates.