Greenburgh Insider: Greenburgh's VaxUpWestchester initiative gets national attention.

VaxUpWestchester helping to persuade people to get vaccine one at a time MSNBC highlights one success story!

  

GREENBURGH’S VACCINATION EFFORTS AGAIN ON NATIONAL STAGE.

#VaxUpWestchester Continues Work to Address Hesitancy and Access.

VaxUpWestchester was established to follow up on the work of Greenburgh Covid Angels.

 

GREENBURGH, NY__ Sharon Walker, of Yonkers, who got vaccinated at a #VaxUpWestchester pop up in Tarrytown recently, was among the guests featured this week on MSNBC’s “The Beat with Ari Melber”. The powerful segment addressing vaccine hesitancy and the major misinformation problem behind it featured three women from around the country -- two of whom lost an unvaccinated daughter or a brother to the virus. Walker luckily got herself and her son vaccinated to stave off such a tragic outcome, but it took a lot of effort to get them there. 

 

Loaded with myths about the vaccine and the virus from the streets, Walker and her son really did not want to get vaccinated. But Walker was determined to educate herself and Kenny Herzog, Executive Director of #VaxUpWestchester, was committed to giving it his all to help. After a month of talking with Herzog, the mother and son finally showed up to get their doses from the Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corp in July. “I had to be an example for my son so I went first. I prayed over the needle,” Walker said. “To be a good parent, you have to be responsible. I need him to have a future… I did not want to take the vaccine either but it’s the right thing to do.”

#VaxUpWestchester, a grassroots effort run by volunteers and the Town of Greenburgh, targets area zip codes with the lowest vaccination rates and partners with trusted leaders to disseminate educational materials, coordinate virtual Q&A forums with experts, and host or facilitate vaccination, appointment and informational popups at various locations, from churches and mosques to food pantries, municipal housing complexes and neighborhood restaurants.

This week #VUW collaborated with the Westchester Youth Congress to host a virtual vaccine forum for parents and children. You can watch the full session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g6zW2mHwSA&t=1s

The link to the MSNBC segment is here: https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/as-covid-19-surges-in-red-states-people-speak-out-on-shift-from-hesitant-to-vaccinated-118326341725

Our next vaccination event is upcoming in White Plains:

 

Calvary Baptist Church, 32 West Post Road, White Plains - 8/28 - 3-7:30pm - It's almost back to school time! #VUW is thrilled to participate in Calvary Baptist Church's Community Block Party. Our volunteers will have useful vaccine information and Pfizer doses (12+) in partnership with Sunshine Pharmacy. 

 

Herzog and his crew of committed volunteers could use more help, and welcome anyone who might be interested in taking on the role of Coordinator -- both for organizing events and helping liaise with volunteers and line them up with well-suited roles -- to please reach out by writing to vaxupwestchester@gmail.com.

To learn more about the #VUW campaign, visit vaxupwestchester.org, email vaxupwestchester@gmail.com, or call Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner's  Office at 914.989.1540.  Assistant to the Supervisor Krista Madsen is assisting.  Downloadable bilingual educational flyers available here. Requests are also welcome for additional resources and hosting information sessions.

VaxupWestchester was formed as a follow up to the nationally acclaimed Greenburgh Covid Angels initiative. Over 4,000 Greenburgh residents, many seniors, were contacted at the beginning of the year and received assistance getting vaccines when vaccines were hard to obtain.

PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor