Local health officials in West Virginia agree there’s a decline in demand for covid-19 vaccine, so they’re going out into communities to make vaccinations accessible and to build trust.
“At first we could not keep up with demand. We’re doing a little better by going out to smaller places,” said Dr. Sherri Young, health officer for the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.
“While we’re not getting the thousands and thousands we were, we’re still getting thousands per week.”
State statistics show that 683,395 West Virginians have received at least one dose of covid-19 vaccine.
The state indicates 513,848 have been fully vaccinated.
But the pace of vaccination appears to have slowed.
The highest number of total vaccinations recently was last Friday with 4,455.
The largest number before that was 9,647 on April 8.
Before that, the state administered 10,874 vaccinations on April 2.
West Virginia administered 14,342 doses on March 31.
And the state administered 16,819 doses on March 26.
Gov. Jim Justice and his health advisers say most of the people who were especially motivated to receive vaccinations have now had opportunities to do so.
That leaves some people who are skeptical, some who may be receptive but who haven’t gotten around to vaccination yet, as well as others who may not have consistent access to transportation.
“It is going to slow down. It is going to be a bigger challenge,” Justice said Wednesday, urging people to help organize small groups that might be open to vaccination.
“Contact us. Please contact us and we’ll come. We’ll come and do the congregation. We’ll come and do whoever if you’ll please, please contact us.”
That approach will work, but it is likely to be more methodical than some of the mass vaccination clinics of the past couple of months, said Dr. Terrence Reidy, the Jefferson County health officer.
“Going to small groups, even if you only get ten people at a time, you’ve helped those ten people,” Reidy said today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
He agreed that some people are against being vaccinated or have wanted to wait. Reidy said some others are not comfortable with large vaccination events.
“Those who clearly wanted it and anxiously wanted – the low-hanging fruit, if you would – have received their doses,” Reidy said.
.@DrSherriYoung2 and Dr. Terrence Reidy, Jefferson County Health Officer, join @HoppyKercheval to discuss the challenge of getting more people vaccinated. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/vhoQy6MXB1
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) April 20, 2021
The slowdown is happening across the entire state, Marion County Health Administrator Lloyd White said this week on “Talk of the Town” on WAJR Radio.
White said local health officials have already started making plans to reach communities that might have lower access to vaccination clinics. “One of the barriers to healthcare is transportation,” White said.
He said the availability of the vaccine has clearly improved, but the challenge now is to reach more people.
“I think it’s a good thing from the standpoint that anybody who wants the vaccine ought to be able to get it,” White said. “However, the downside of that is, do we have folks who just say I don’t want the vaccine?
“The challenge for us moving forward is, how do we educate folks of the value of the vaccine?”