Health leaders talk about COVID-19 vaccine
Sen. Bob Casey and a panel of medical professionals and community leaders came together Friday to reassure the public about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.
The panel also encouraged all Pennsylvanians, including the African American, LGBTQ, and other minority groups to get inoculated to protect themselves and their families during the pandemic, while addressing the fear and reluctance that some communities have voiced.
“Southwestern Pennsylvania has suffered substantially in the number of cases and deaths, and the adverse economic impact,” said Casey, noting the state’s 884,269 COVID-19 cases and 22,860 deaths.
The coronavirus deaths, Casey said, exceed the number of Pennsylvanians who were killed in action during World War II.
Casey called the COVID-19 vaccines “a bright light in this long, dark tunnel,” but said the state faces challenges – among them, speeding up vaccine distribution and increasing the number of people who want to get vaccinated.
The Rev. Dr. John C. Welch, a regional faith leader and medical ethicist, discussed his efforts to reach members of the African American and LGBTQ communities, who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, through a “Spread Truth, Not COVID” campaign in order to combat distrust and misinformation.
The digital campaign, Welch said, aims to get accurate, consistent messaging about COVID into the hands of trusted community leaders, faith leaders, social service organizations, and medical professionals who work with underserved and marginalized communities.
Monica Ruiz, executive director of Casa San Jose, a Pittsburgh nonprofit that serves immigrant families, said many in the Latino population fear of getting deported if they show up to get the COVID-19 vaccination.
“We’ve found the fear is not fear of the reaction, it’s fear of deportation,” she said.
Her organization works to build trust in the community in the vaccine and to fight misinformation and conspiracy theories.
“It’s our responsibility to get them the correct information,” said Ruiz, who has turned to, among other things, social media – including Facebook Live sessions with physicians – and placing information in food boxes.
Brook Ward, president and CEO of Washington Health System, assured people that the vaccines are safe, noting the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 95% effective.
“There were no short cuts in the process,” said Ward, addressing suspicions that the vaccine was developed to quickly to be safe.
Ward said the vaccine “is something we can all be proud of,” and said “if we want to protect our communities, and want to get our kids back in school and our businesses up and running, this is how we do it.”
Ward, too, said communities have to make the vaccine available to minorities and overlooked communities, and to provide it “in a way that is ethical and efficient.”
Pennsylvania’s rollout, though, has been slow, and a limited number of vaccines are available.
Ward said WHS, which will soon be operating three mass vaccination sites, will have the capability of administering more than 8,000 vaccines a week.
“That’s if we get the vaccine,” said Ward. “That’s the limiting factor.”