Created: February 04, 2021 05:15 PM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the Black and Brown members of our community. The data shows they are getting sick and dying at a rate much higher than white people. New York state has promised equal access to the coronavirus vaccine, but as the rollout continues, some question whether that is happening.
Age-adjusted death rates per 100,000 from the start of the pandemic until the middle of January in Monroe County show that Latinx and Black communities have been hit hardest. The data is similar on a statewide level, which is the reason Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been promising for months that there would be a focus on equitable vaccine distribution.
Credit freeimages.com/Iwan Beijes
As the general public waits to get access to the COVID-19 vaccines, plans are underway to launch a vaccine literacy program early next year.
Led by faculty members at the Wegmans School of Pharmacy at St. John Fisher College, the yearlong educational campaign will focus on dispelling myths and misinformation about immunizations. The program is funded by a $20,000 grant from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.
Ramil Sapinoro, associate professor of pharmaceutical science at St. John Fisher College, said mistrust and misconceptions of vaccines in general have spilled over to specific concerns about the new COVID-19 vaccines, partly because of the speed with which they were developed.