Gregg County to use federal grant to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates

Published 5:45 am Wednesday, October 20, 2021

The Gregg County Health Department will use a federal grant to expand COVID-19 vaccination efforts to minorities as well as low-income and homeless residents.

Ashley Sloan, director of immunizations for the county health department, told the Gregg County Commissioners Court on Monday that the grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention totals $380,000 over two fiscal years.

Commissioners officially accepted the grant at the Monday meeting.

Sloan said the health department’s goal is to increase COVID-19 education and vaccinations among demographic groups in the county with the lowest rates.

White residents make up 48% of people vaccinated in Gregg County, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Black people account for 15%; Hispanic people make up 15%; Asian residents account for 1%; “other” are at a 14% vaccination rate; and residents in the “unknown” category make up 7%.

Gregg County Health Authority Dr. Lewis Browne said there are several reasons these groups have low vaccination numbers.

“Populations that are more affluent are able to get the vaccine if they wish,” he said.

Affluent residents “have access to transportation easier” and don’t have to rely on buses or public transport, Browne said.

He added that language barriers are one of the big factors for low vaccination rates in the Hispanic population. Browne hopes the grant can be used in Hispanic media to generate interest and advertise vaccine availability.

“We can maybe even put some radio or some sort of adverts in the Hispanic literature and our stations and see if they will listen to that, try and get them to come in and get the shots,” Browne said.

Distrust in the vaccine is a factor that affects every population, Browne said. Specifically, homeless residents have been skeptical of the vaccine and hesitant to get it.

As a result of the grant, he said a weekly shot clinic is planned at the health department, 405 E. Marshall Ave. in Longview.

Browne also said the department aims to hold outreach clinics in neighborhoods where people have had a hard time getting vaccines.

He added that if people from other counties want to come to Gregg County to get a vaccine, they are free to do so. However, the outreach clinics will not travel outside the county.

“It’s better to vaccinate and prevent COVID than it is to treat COVID,” Browne said. “I might add people need to remember the vaccine is for free. Maybe that’s why people don’t put a value to it because it’s for free, but there’s definitely a value to it.”

Also at Monday’s commissioners meeting, Gregg County received $243,744 in funds from the state’s opioid lawsuit settlement.

The settlement is part of two agreements filed against three major pharmaceutical distributors — Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen — as well as opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson for their role in manufacturing and distributing the drugs and the increase in opioid overdose deaths.