HOUSTON – As COVID-19 vaccines roll out, now a big question is who will take them once they’re available. That was the focus of a recent Episcopal Health Foundation statewide survey of about 1,200 Texans.
“We show that overall 60% of Texans say that they’re likely to get the vaccine. That’s up from a little bit from a lower number in the earlier part of the year,” said Elena Marks, the President & CEO of Episcopal Health Foundation.
According to data from the survey, which is broken down by factors including age, race and income, there is still work to be done for the other 40% that is unlikely or less likely to take the vaccine.
“The reason that they may be hesitant to take it may be a completely different reason. There’s some that haven’t yet gotten the right information that tells them that the vaccine is safe,” said Marks.
A major effort is now underway to get everyone, who is eligible to be vaccinated.
“We have to really do our due diligence and make sure that people are aware of the risks and benefits and the importance of us moving forward,” said Dr. Charlene Flash, the President & CEO of Avenue 360 Health & Wellness.
As more COVID-19 vaccines roll-out, work is also already underway to get the word out about them.
Avenue 360 Health and Wellness looks to do that by talking with their patients and staff along with education and community outreach.
“This is a time for us to come together as a community and say listen we all want our communities to be healthy. We all want to get away from wearing these masks and having to social distance and not being able to spend time with our elderly loved ones,” Flash said.
With the possibility of more COVID-19 vaccines being approved and more people become eligible to take them, the push is now on to get people vaccinated.
“In order for us to really end this pandemic we need the vaccine to be taken by as many people as possible,” Marks said.