Lynchburg leaders push vaccine through faith circles in communities of color
COVID-19 continues to affect communities of color at a disproportionately high rate
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LYNCHBURG, VA. – On Wednesday night, faith and health leaders in Lynchburg hosted a virtual town hall for communities of color and the COVID-19 vaccine. These communities continue to be hard-hit by severe cases, and work is being done to keep people safe.
Five faith and health leaders from Lynchburg gathered together to share the facts. Starting with what the COVID-19 vaccine is, and is not.
“Vaccines were developed essentially to rev up that immune system and enable our bodies to fight infection,” Dr. Winifred Agard of Lynchburg General Hospital said.
Amid a growing surplus of COVID-19 vaccination doses in the Lynchburg area, local health and faith leaders are reaching out to encourage immunization and safe habits, especially in the cityâs Black communities.
City officials and leaders from the Bridges to Progress faith taskforce collaborated for a town hall titled âFaith, Facts & the COVID-19 Vaccinationâ on Wednesday evening, with Black community leaders dispelling myths, answering questions and offering words of encouragement about immunization efforts.
Shauntell Kline, a family nurse practitioner with Central Virginia Family Physicians, said she believed fear around vaccine safety, skepticism and distrust of the government are the leading root causes for why Lynchburgâs Black communities have been hesitant to get vaccinated.