At Union Station in Worcester Thursday the mood was jubilant, the tunes from a local DJ were hits of the 80’s and 90’s and Massachusetts' lieutenant governor couldn’t have been more excited about what the state's “Vax Express” is trying to do — get needles in the arms of people who might otherwise not get a vaccine.
“We need to go to places where there has been hesitancy and reach people where they are, which is where we are, on the commuter rail literally going to the gateway communities to bring the vaccine,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “We have pop up clinics. We’ll literally go to your home.”
The express, run by CIC Health, has vaccinated more than 250 people, with four more train stations to go. It’s been stopping in the spots where vaccination rates are low: Boston, Worcester, Lowell, Lawrence, and Fitchburg.
Nearly 4.3 million people — about 62 percent of the total population — in Massachusetts are completely vaccinated.
But the numbers don’t tell the whole story, said Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. While she and other advocates for low income communities appreciate the state’s efforts, they question why communities hardest hit by the pandemic are being treated as an afterthought, with what they see as a kind of second tier urgency.
“We are, in essence, climbing out of a hole. Because of the decisions that the state made in how to initially roll the vaccine out across Massachusetts, there is a significant gap by race and ethnicity in terms of who has been vaccinated and who still does not have adequate access to the vaccine,” she said.
Pavlos said the Vaccine Equity Now Coalition has been raising the issue of vaccine inequity since February. The mass vaccination sites, she said, were accessible mostly by private transporation, and required advance appointments and taking time off of work to get innoculated against COVID-19.
“All those are the kinds of decisions ... set up a system that has the predictable outcome of lower vaccination rates in communities of color and for working people," Pavlos added.
Noelle Kohles is the chief nursing and clinical operations officer at the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center. The center was planning to hold a “vaccine festival” later Thursday night, with pop station Fun 107 playing tunes. The last time the health center had one of these events, they vaccinated 131 people.
The key, Kohles said, is understanding the communities that have greatest hesitancy, and figuring out how to overcome it. She said culture plays a huge role in how people view the vaccines and whether you need to go to them or bring them in to a place like the New Bedford center.
“It all starts with relationship building and trust,” Kohles said. “So, I think getting the right people in the community that look alike, that talk alike, that have the same relationship definitely helps with increasing the vaccination rates.”
Kohles said the train is a fine idea, but she urged the state to be nimble. If something doesn’t work, drop it and try something else.
Kohles said she’s found that the young adults she speaks with say they want to “find the vaccine that’s right for them.” They’re doing lots of research online and trying to decide which of the three vaccines is best, or whether they should get vaccinated at all.
Julio Santana fits that category. He was smiling as he rolled up his sleeve on the Vax Express, waiting for his shot. Santana said as a young, fit guy he didn’t think he’d get the virus or that if he did it wouldn't be that bad, yet here he was, on the vax express.
“I’m going Johnson and Johnson all the way, yeaaah” Santana said with a chuckle.
“I have to get myself together. I don’t want to put my family in jeopardy,” he said. “I got tied up with other things. … So, you know, it’s about time I took the steps to clean myself up, to get my act together, you know, and get vaccinated.”
