BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – Brass band playing 24 hours a day through the coronavirus vaccine event. Doses are delivered to commercial fishermen minutes from the docks. Pop-up vaccination clinics at a Buddhist temple, homeless shelters, truck stops and casinos, with shots available at night or on weekends.
And now the house-to-door outreach begins in neighborhoods where few people have been vaccinated.
Louisiana is pushing a full court to get shots in the arms, with aggressive – and sometimes creative – outreach to make it as easy as possible to get vaccinated. The attempt comes because the vaccine supply is increasing, but the demand is not.
The state has called in health care workers, colleges, community groups and church pastors to help the reluctant to organize vaccination. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards has granted access to vaccines for anyone aged 16 or over. The health department has launched a call center to answer vaccination questions and set up appointments for people without internet access or limited technological skills.
Civic organizations and faith-based groups working with the state began using voice-out-of-the-vote tactics, knocking and making phone calls to store the vaccine.
But even with very comfortable access, Louisiana officials are struggling with a problem that is almost as anxious as COVID-19 itself: how to persuade those who are infallible about the shot to roll up their sleeves.
“I honestly do not know what people are waiting for. “It just does not make sense to me, but I will continue to appeal to them,” Edwards said.
Health officials expect a difficult time to reach the threshold that scientists believe is needed to stop the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19, a measure of 70% or more of the population that has immunity, whether through vaccination or infection in the past. The problem became particularly urgent as more virulent and contagious virus strains reached the United States.
State surveys show that 40% or more Louisiana residents are reluctant to get the vaccine or do not want to do it at all. And while Louisiana administers doses at higher doses than some other southern states, it remains below ground. six according to adults 18 and older according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Other states are also trying new approaches, either because they have seen noticeable declines in vaccine interest, or because they are concerned about fair access.
The Alaska Department of Health is considering creating vaccine clinics at airports. The Ohio Health Agency has asked vaccine providers to develop sites near bus stops and to offer mobile immunization services. In Connecticut, the Department of Health has made an effort to call residents directly to schedule appointments. Mississippi works with local organizations to bring vaccinations directly to home-bound seniors. The Alabama Health Agency has investigated the vaccine reluctance to determine how it should make messages to appeal to the hesitant.
Dr. Catherine O’Neal, chief medical officer of the Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in the capital of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, said she had heard from people who believe that misinformation about social media vaccinations, but also from those who simply do not have a sense of urgency to get a chance. Others are worried about side effects.
“We have enough vaccine. “If you want an appointment, you can get it in a week,” O’Neal said. But for many, “there is no driving force when they will get it.”
Nearly 31% of the state’s population has received at least one dose of vaccine requiring two doses, according to state data. More than 22% were fully immunized.
Shane Pizani, a former Marine living in a suburb of New Orleans, contracted COVID-19 shortly after Thanksgiving, with symptoms lasting more than a month. Still, he was worried about the vaccine.
To alleviate his worries, he did research and discussed it with his doctor and obtained information which he said he put more at ease. When he gets his first shot in mid-February, he gets a panic attack.
Still, he gets the second dose and goes to work to persuade his mother – who repeated anti-vaccine conspiracy theories she saw on social media.
I just kept going, kept going, kept going. I told her, ‘We’re going to stop hanging out with the kids because I can not stay with myself if I give you COVID and something happens to you,’ Pizani said. “She finally went and made her appointment.”
Kerri Tobin, a professor of education at Louisiana State University, was initially concerned that the vaccine would accumulate too quickly to be safe. Then she watched as more friends in the healthcare industry and others she trusted posted on social media about receiving their doses.
“I see someone else doing it and they are doing well. And it continues, ”she said.
Tobin received her second dose of Pfizer vaccine at the end of March.
Health officials believe that such a word-of-mouth among friends and family can help increase vaccinations.
Surveys show those who are reluctant or do not want the vaccine should use it by racial groups and regions. A recent LSU survey showed greater disinterest from Republicans than Democrats. Government officials are particularly concerned about southwestern Louisiana, where people are struggling to recover from hurricanes that are behind and seem less focused on the pandemic.
In each case, Louisiana’s health department and government officials are trying to find a convincing approach. Data show, for example, that black people have been vaccinated at lower rates, so the state has issued African-American ministers and offers vaccinations in their churches. The state’s historic Black College system is conducting its own purposeful outreach to mobilize alumni and faith-based and social organizations to encourage people to be vaccinated.
Some congregations have begun delivering vaccines to elderly people with disabilities at home, and are providing bicycle services to provide free transportation to vaccination facilities.
Such vaccines could be further hampered by the discontinuation of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week following reports of rare blood clots in six women who received it. Experts believe it is too early to know whether this will increase the reluctance in Louisiana and elsewhere.
Louis Bayham, secretary of the Republican Party of Louisiana, had a fierce battle with COVID-19 in March 2020. He was bedridden for a week and had symptoms for weeks longer.
He has now received his first shot – and he is encouraging fellow Republicans to do the same. Bayham tells friends and colleagues that the vaccine is one of the biggest achievements of Donald Trump’s presidency, and he shares details on how it feels to have COVID-19.
“You do not want this virus. “Whatever the vaccine can do to you, the virus is much worse,” said Bayham.