The COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Task Force, led by Ximena Garcia, heard speakers from three efforts across Kansas to address vaccination disparities in their community. (March 10, 2021, photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA A concerted effort among community stakeholders to get communities of color vaccinated against COVID-19 has driven up rates but a state task force is still seeking ways to bring them fully even with their white counterparts.
Members of the Kansas COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Task Force have pointed to meeting these communities where they are at in vaccination efforts would be key. In the Latino community, crossing the language divide has been a primary effort.
Counties Most Vulnerable to COVID Have Been the Slowest to Vaccinate
Medics transfer a patient on a stretcher from an ambulance outside the Coral Gables Hospital where COVID-19 patients are treated in Coral Gables near Miami, Florida, on July 30, 2020.
CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images
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ProPublica analysis of county data maintained by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that early attempts to prioritize people with chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and obesity have faltered. At the same time, healthier and often wealthier counties moved faster in vaccinating residents, especially those 65 and older. (Seniors are a more reliable measure of vaccination progress than younger adults, who are less likely to have been eligible long enough to receive their second shots.) Counties with high levels of chronic illnesses or “comorbidities” had, on average, immunized 57% of their seniors by April 25, compared to 65% of seniors in counties
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As the U.S. rushes to vaccinate its population against the coronavirus, most counties with the sickest residents are lagging behind and making only incremental progress reaching their most vulnerable populations.
A ProPublica analysis of county data maintained by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that early attempts to prioritize people with chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and obesity have faltered. At the same time, healthier and often wealthier counties moved faster in vaccinating residents, especially those 65 and older. (Seniors are a more reliable measure of vaccination progress than younger adults, who are less likely to have been eligible long enough to receive their second shots.) Counties with high levels of chronic illnesses or “comorbidities” had, on average, immunized 57% of their seni
Wyandotte County church leaders help address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
Church leaders help address Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy
and last updated 2021-04-27 23:48:31-04
KANSAS CITY, Kan. â Wyandotte County health officials are working to address vaccine hesitancy.
Just 17.3% of county residents are fully vaccinated and 26.6% of residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
The current Kansas statewide rate is 37.8 % for people who have received at least one vaccine dose.
Wyandotte County churches are stepping in to help address hesitancy in the community.
Reverend Tony Carter Jr. at Salem Baptist Church is happy to use his influence on community members to educate them about the COVID-19 vaccine.