BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A virtual town hall, looking to educate Buffalo about the COVID-19 vaccine, is hoping to increase the number of people in the black community who have received it.
"Only about six percent of black people have been vaccinated," Reverend George Nicholas said, "So that's not trending in the direction we want."
Community leaders say there is a need to increase education and distribution to black and brown communities. University District Council Member Rasheed Wyatt says many in his district are refusing to get it.
Rasheed Wyatt
I do have a lot of people in my district who still say they're not going to get the vaccine and it's so important for us to educate them and arm them with the information because this is taking out people in our community.
It's not just Council Member Wyatt's district, the panel pointed to a recent study showing 35% of Black Americans said they definitely or probably would not get the vaccine. The same study showed that 70% of Black Americans believe medical care is given differently depending on race. This town hall hoped that explanations into the vaccine and the distribution would help.
"This educational program will get people to take this seriously and really think long and hard about how this is affecting us," Council Member Wyatt said.
Another town hall will be held February 18th at 4:30. The link can be found here.
