With many people hesitant about getting the coronavirus vaccine, a group in Revere is going door to door to ease concerns.
Canvassers with the state's Vaccine Equity Initiative handed out informational flyers in Revere on Thursday afternoon as the push to get people vaccinated statewide continues.
“I’m not at all hesitant. I was ready to get it, I just want to get it over with, get back to normal life,” Revere resident Regina Messina said.
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Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday that there is very little vaccine hesitancy in Massachusetts.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Massachusetts has the lowest statewide hesitancy rate in the country at 7%.
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"People in Massachusetts are eager to get vaccinated," Baker said. "This enthusiasm is a critical part of making Massachusetts the leading state among all big states in getting our residents vaccinated."
But that’s not the case across the country.
On the Today show, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky spoke of the ongoing push to get to herd immunity.
“Now comes the hard work of working with our communities trying to understand why people may be hesitant," she said. "Is it the science they feel was rushed? We know 100,000 people were enrolled in these clinical trials for these vaccines."
In Revere, city ambassadors will also soon hit the streets, going door to door to help residents sign up for a shot.
“It’s a way to have two-way communication and for residents to know we’re also residents who are in the same boat as them," said Dimple Rana, the city's director of community engagement.
On Thursday, those city ambassadors assembled bags of COVID supplies for residents. They said they’ll be ready to sign up people for a vaccine right at their homes.
The goal in Revere is to get 70% of residents vaccinated by Fourth of July.
Baker announced new television ads Thursday as part of the state's $5 million, multilingual "Trust the Facts, Get the Vax" public awareness campaign.
The new ads are aimed at reminding residents that the COVID-19 vaccine saves lives and that getting vaccinated will help protect them and their loved ones.
Baker said the continuing public awareness campaign will complement door-to-door canvassing in the 20 Massachusetts communities that have been the most severely impacted by the pandemic.
