Vaccine providers are trying to encourage more North Dakotans to get a COVID-19 shot as demand plateaus, but many people remain skeptical of the available vaccines.
Public health departments and local hospitals told the Tribune that they re trying to reach out to the community to get people who haven t been vaccinated in for a jab. The state Health Department is planning a mass media campaign to increase vaccination rates, as well.
Providers attribute the drop in demand to several factors, including a lack of convenience and concerns about vaccine safety. They ve also heard that others prefer to wait and see while the people they know get vaccinated.
North Dakota is getting more than $14.6 million in federal aid to boost COVID-19 vaccination efforts, particularly among minorities, the White House announced Tuesday.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is providing the money for the state to expand access to the vaccine. It s part of $3 billion being doled out across the country. The funding was made available through the American Rescue Plan and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, both passed by Congress.Â
âWe are doing everything we can to expand access to vaccinations,â CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. âMillions of Americans are getting vaccinated every day, but we need to ensure that we are reaching those in the communities hit hardest by this pandemic.