Jessica Kirk is looking forward to her turn to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The 46-year-old mother of three and former medical secretary has a compromised immune system, which places her at greater risk of experiencing complications from the coronavirus that has already claimed more than 400,000 Americans’ lives.
Kirk is confident in the safety of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Her fellow community members, however, don’t all feel the same way.
Many of Kirk’s neighbors in the predominantly Black and low-income neighborhood of East Akron are hesitant to take the vaccine because they fear negative consequences.
“They think it’s just the government giving them something just to kill off, you know… the poor Black community. … [Not] just Black people, but minorities,” Kirk said on a frigid early January afternoon outside of Dave’s Supermarket, a bustling neighborhood grocery store.
via Zoom
Hospital leaders and other Summit County leaders talked about Phase 1B vaccine rollout and the need for patience as well as continued efforts by individuals to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Summit County leaders outlined plans today for distributing COVID-19 vaccines to the next phase of eligible recipients.
The county at this point expects to receive a total of 5,750 doses for group 1B, which includes the elderly, those with certain medical conditions and school personnel. Those doses will be distributed among 11 different providers at 36 different sites located around the county.
The providers include local hospitals, pharmacies and the Summit County Public Health Department. Each location will get between 100 and 300 doses. Public Health Commissioner Donna Skoda says they’ll start administering them on January 21.
Summit County to receive 5,750 coronavirus vaccines for people 80+ on Jan. 19 or 20; no countywide registration database
Updated Jan 13, 2021;
Posted Jan 13, 2021
In a NJ.com file photo, a resident at Juniper Village at Chatham receives his first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Jan. 11, 2021. People 80 and older are set to begin receiving coronavirus vaccines next in Summit County, but are mostly on their own in figuring out where and when to go. Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media
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AKRON, Ohio – Summit County is expecting to receive more than 5,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine next week, but is largely leaving people 80 and older on their own to figure out where and how to get vaccinated.
Ohio is about to begin vaccinating the general public, staring with those 80 years of age or older, but before that happens several items must be checked off Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s list this week.