Race Tracks, Church Dinners, Factories: Vermont Health Dept. Casts Wide Net To Reach 90K Still Unvaccinated
Most Vermonters who have yet to be vaccinated are open to getting the shot, according to surveys cited by the Vermont Department of Health. But many haven’t made the vaccine a priority. So the state has organized dozens of small community clinics, including one outside of Dan & Whit’s General Store in Norwich. (Lexi Krupp/VPR)
It was a slow morning at a recent COVID vaccine clinic in Morrisville, VT. For the first two hours it was open, no one got a shot.
The clinic, organized by the nonprofit Capstone Community Action, advertised free child care and transportation, hoping to make it easier to access. But that’s not what ultimately brought people out.
Jody Pierce of Hardwick isn’t worried about getting COVID herself. She doesn’t like shots, so getting a vaccine hadn’t been on her radar.
“I guess I never really thought about it that much because I’ve been so busy,” she said. “I clean and keep myself busy doing stuff — I help my mom and whoever needs help.”
That changed when Pierce started planning a trip to Montana to visit her grandchildren. She hasn’t seen them in two years, and she wants to be vaccinated before she gets on a plane.