Outreach is available
PALMDALE — As vaccination rates still lag behind what public health officials would like to see, especially with the surge in cases related to the emergence of the highly-contagious Delta variant of the virus, a new outreach effort has begun in the Antelope Valley to encourage more residents to get vaccinated.
The California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators is leading the “Let’s VAX, THEN Relax” campaign, working with Antelope Valley school districts and other community organizations to increase vaccination awareness among African Americans and other at-risk groups in the Valley.
The effort will use schools, churches, community-based organizations and businesses as information hubs about COVID-19, its impact on the community and the need to get vaccinated.
“The number of unvaccinated African American and Latinx residents is significant and lags behind those in other communities, according to LA County Department of Public Health statistics,” Dr. Michele Bowers, CAAASA’s president-elect and Lancaster School District superintendent, said in a statement announcing the campaign. “We see this new vaccine awareness campaign as an extension of ongoing efforts within the AV to provide at-risk residents with valuable information to protect themselves from the virus.”
Outreach will be throughout the Antelope Valley and will include five town hall-style meetings where residents will hear facts about the disease, ask questions of medical professionals and hear from residents of all ages who have been vaccinated or otherwise impacted by COVID-19.
The first meeting will be at 4 p.m., July 31, at Living Praise Christian Center, 2320 East Ave. R in Palmdale.
“We are happy to partner with CAAASA in this effort to raise awareness of COVID-19,” Rev. Braggs, pastor of Peoples
A.M.E Zion Church, said. “Congregations throughout the AV have indicated a willingness to do whatever they can to reduce vaccine hesitancy.”
The campaign, funded by the Centers for Disease Control Foundation, will run through mid-April 2022.
According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Blacks and Latinos lag behind other ethnic groups in getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
Countywide, 45.4% and 54.8% of Blacks and Latinos over age 16, respectively, have been vaccinated as of July 11. This compares to 76.1% of Asian, 65.9% of white and 63% of American Indian and Alaskan native residents, according to public health officials.
No breakdown by both, area and ethnicity, was available.
In the Antelope Valley, the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale have overall vaccination rates of 51% and 58%, respectively, as of July 11, according to county public health officials. The rates are based on residents ages 16 and older who have received at least one dose of vaccine.
Unincorporated areas of the Valley, however, generally have lower rates of vaccination. The lowest are in the Pearblossom/Llano area at 28% and Lake Hughes at 26%.
The sparsely-populated area of Hi Vista, in the Valley’s northeast corner, has the highest vaccination rate, at 61%, which amounts to 534 people.
Most unincorporated areas fall in the 30% to 50% range, according to data from the county.
Free vaccinations are available to every Los Angeles County resident ages 12 and older. Vaccinations are available at numerous sites across the Valley, including most chain pharmacies, several health centers, vaccination clinics at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds and Palmdale Oasis Recreation Center, as well as frequent pop-up clinics at various locations.
For information on the nearest available vaccination opportunities, visit publichealth.lacounty.gov