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Hampden County, Doing Poorly On COVID-19 Rates, Pushes For More Vaccinations

 A sign at the Big E grounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts, directs visitors to a COVID-19 vaccination site that opened in April.
Don Treeger
/
The Republican / masslive.com
A sign at the Big E grounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts, directs visitors to a COVID-19 vaccination site that opened in April.

As Hampden County, Massachusetts, continues to rank poorly in COVID-19 metrics, officials are pushing for more vaccinations.

Springfield and Chicopee remain among 13 Massachusetts communities in the "red zone" for risk of COVID-19 infection.

City leaders say that only 23% of people in Springfield have been fully vaccinated, compared with about 40% statewide.

Racial disparities persist in the city, too. According to state data, white residents are getting vaccinated at two and three times the rate of Black and Hispanic residents, respectively.

Only 17% of Black residents and 11% of Hispanic residents are fully vaccinated, compared to 34% of white residents.

"Some of the data and information given to you may be sort of depressing," said Springfield's health commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris. "It may feel like we’re not doing the work — but you are. We just need to try harder."

City health leaders said they’re making vaccination clinics as convenient as possible, like targeting the most hard-to-access neighborhoods and allowing walk-ins.

Asked whether Springfield might have to delay its reopening because of COVID-19 rates, Mayor Domenic Sarno said it’s just important for people to get vaccinated.

Karen Brown is a radio and print journalist who focuses on health care, mental health, children’s issues, and other topics about the human condition. She has been a full-time radio reporter for NEPM since 1998.
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