County campaign looking to reassure skeptics of vaccine
Harris County launched a campaign Thursday aimed at convincing hesitant residents to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
While vaccine demand far exceeds supply right now, a University of Houston survey found just 38 percent of residents will get the shots when they become available; 22 percent said they definitely would not.
Health experts estimate between 70 percent and 90 percent of residents will need to be vaccinated for Texas to reach herd immunity and finally end the pandemic.
The multimedia campaign will include billboards, as well as print, radio and television advertisements in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Last week, the county set up an online waitlist for the vaccine.
Harris County’s campaign will focus on communities of color. A national survey of minority groups by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found almost 40 percent of respondents would refuse the vaccine or were undecided.
“Something that is beginning to become evident is the same communities who are hardesthit by the virus are the communities that are most hesitant to receive the vaccine,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said at the Spring Branch Community Health Center. “It’s a tragic fact, and it impacts particularly Black and Hispanic communities,
which have been hammered by this virus from the very beginning.”
She attributed that to the lack of health care access in minority communities, as well historic neglect by government health agencies and initiatives. Hidalgo said Harris County needs to break down the “wall of suspicion” to convince residents to trust the vaccine.
The city of Houston is undertaking
a similar effort, dubbed “Take Your Best Shot.” That campaign, which launched in late December, includes radio and television broadcast messages in English and Spanish, use of social media networks and targets specific ZIP codes with high African-American and Latino populations.
Dr. Sherri Onyiego, the county health authority, said the arrival of the vaccine does not mean residents should stop taking precautions against the virus. The positivity rate remained above 13 percent on Wednesday and almost 3,000 people are hospitalized
with coronavirus in the Houston region.
“If we invite people not in our household into our homes, not only are we putting our lives at risk, but also the lives of the loved ones in our households,” Onyiego said. “We do see a light at the end of the tunnel, but we have to be patient.”
Since June, Harris County has been at its highest COVID-19 threat level, which urges residents to stay home whenever possible and avoid unnecessary contact with others.
Currently, only Texans in the 1A
or 1B categories, consisting of health care workers and first responders, the elderly and people with certain chronic conditions, are eligible to receive a vaccine.
Dr. David Lakey, a member of the state’s panel of vaccine experts, estimated the general public would not be able to get vaccinated before May or June.
As of Wednesday, 307,000 Harris County residents age 16 an older had received at least one dose of the vaccine, representing 9 percent of the population.