The push to build trust in the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines is a personal fight for Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan. Last March, Flanagan lost her brother to COVID-19, several weeks after he'd been diagnosed with cancer.
On Friday morning, Lt. Gov. Flanagan watched as elders received their COVID vaccines at the Native American Community Clininc.
"The enthusiasm, the relief people feel... And frankly, I put on waterproof mascara today because I knew it was going to be an emotional morning," Flanagan said. "It certainly has proved to be."
Flanagan spent the morning at the NACC as well as at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center in north Minneapolis as a way to highlight vaccine distribution efforts in Native American communities and communities of color.
Flanagan said that building trust in the vaccines and medical system is not an easy task especially in communities that have been historically underserved.
"What COVID has done is exposed and exacerbated the inequities in our state," said Flanagan.
Work continues in communities through the Resilience and Recovery work group established by Governor Tim Walz. The work group continues to focus on making sure COVID-19 doesn't impact communities of color and American Indians more than others in the state.
"How do we make sure in communities where there is distrust of the medical system based on past trauma?" Flanagan said. "It's important for us to send a message that the vaccine is safe."
The NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center has been a hub for COVID-19 testing in north Minneapolis ever since the pandemic began. According to NorthPoint CEO Stella Whitney-West, the center tested over 9,000 people and once had a test-positivity rate as high as 30 percent.
"That's indicative of the community and patients we serve," Whitney-West said. "Over 90 percent are from communities of color."
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, COVID-19 has devastated communities, especially in fatal cases.
NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center had vaccinated close to 300 of its medical staff as of Friday morning.
"We did get enough vaccines for our staff, but we are anticipating as soon as it comes available, that we will get enough for all of our patients, which is over 28,000 patients annually," Whitney-West said. "Not only for our patients, but for the community as well. We want to be a main source for our community."
