Health Leaders Helping Ease Vaccine Hesitancy in Minority Groups

ST. PAUL -- Governor Tim Walz announced Thursday that Minnesota will remain focused on vaccinating the state’s seniors for COVID-19 before filtering in other groups:

We anticipate at the current level where we're at right now, no additional Johnson and Johnson, no additional doses coming in which there is a high probability they will - but our most conservative estimate is we'll be done with that 70-percent by the end of March. The potential to sooner is there if the vaccine comes.

Despite the updated vaccination rollout plan, local health officials say there is still some hesitation to get vaccinated among some racial groups.

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Dr. Jill Amsberry is a member of the CentraCare COVID Vaccine Planning Team. She says they meet on a weekly basis with racial and minority leaders who have expressed their concerns and questions about the vaccine.

Our minority partners have told us they would like to have vaccine education come from someone who looks like them. So we are identifying community champions to help inform and educate.

Amsberry says they've also heard people would feel more comfortable about getting the vaccine if it came to them.

This led to the creation of CentraCare's Mobile Strike Teams, which target communities that may not have access to the vaccine for a variety of reasons.

Based on current projections, the next group of Minnesotans eligible for a vaccine will begin getting them in April, and every Minnesotan should be able to get a vaccine by this summer.

Minnesota News Network contributed to this story.