MORGANTOWN — Based on its internal data, the Monongalia County Health Department has participated in the administration of more than 88,000 doses of the various COVID-19 vaccinations across a number of locations.
That’s to say nothing of the department’s efforts focused on education, prevention, testing and contact tracing.
So, given the frenetic nature of MCHD’s pandemic response the past 24 months and the precipitous drop of COVID infection rates to near-March 2020 levels, you may expect the department to take its foot off the proverbial gas.
No so, according to MCHD Medical Director Dr. Lee Smith, who told the board of health on Thursday, “There’s work to be done.”
“One of the things that we’ve been working very studiously is to improve vaccination rates. We want to increase vaccine acceptance and decrease vaccine reluctance and deal with the disinformation and the misinformation that is out there,” Smith said.
Assisting in that effort is a $1 million Health Resources & Services Administration grant aimed at boosting vaccination rates across a six-county region. MCHD serves as the local pass-through for those funds.
Smith showed the board a video produced by MCHD Public Information Officer Mary Wade Burnside featuring Clarksburg Mayor Jimmy Marino, who recounted his COVID experience, including a 25-day hospitalization and time in intensive care.
The video is the second produced by MCHD providing first-hand accounts from individuals who contracted COVID before they were able to be vaccinated. Both can be found on YouTube by searching “Monongalia County Health Department” or through links at monchd.org.
Smith said the videos are targeted regionally and follow an online advertising strategy that was also adopted at the state level by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
“I just think that if your, if your objective is to improve vaccination, which is next phase of this, right, then you have to do something with your community to get rid of the disinformation, misinformation and improve the support of vaccines,” he said.
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