Project Give It A Shot kicked off in Vance County on Thursday as a way to educate people about the benefits of being vaccinated against COVID-19.
The project is not another spinoff from state or federal programs; rather, it’s more of a grass-roots effort from a group of high school and college students who are on a mission to help medically underserved areas try to reach that goal of achieving herd immunity.
Their first stop was at the Henderson office of Granville-Vance Public Health. Three volunteers stationed themselves in the clinic lobby for several hours in hopes of informing clients about the science behind the vaccines and the importance of being vaccinated.
Aanya Sachdeva, a senior at Cary Academy, and Rishi Desni, soon-to-be-graduate of ECU, were joined by local high school senior Justin Gregory. Gregory is set to graduate from Vance County Early College in a few weeks. He heard about the project and reached out to become a volunteer.
“It will allow me to see what it’d be like to work in the area of public health,” Gregory said of becoming a volunteer. He said there are others he knows who may be interested in being trained, too.
From left, Aanya Sachdeva, Rishi Desni and Justin Gregory
What began with volunteers mostly in the Wake County area has branched out in sort of a “phase 2” plan, which means the group will fan out into more rural counties like Vance.
Sachdeva told WIZS News Thursday that she and other volunteers are available to answer questions and to talk about the vaccine to help others gain understanding.
“We want to make it as easy as possible,” she said, for someone to get the vaccine. Sometimes, that means eliminating barriers.
For people without a way to get to a vaccination clinic, Sachdeva said the volunteers have arranged Uber rides. In Vance County, it could mean making an appointment with KARTS. For others who are uncertain about the safety of the vaccines, volunteers can take the time to try to explain in greater detail about how messenger RNA vaccines work. Their information is available in Spanish, also.
Desni, the ECU senior, said sometimes all it takes is patience.
“It’s not like it’s a one, two, three, you’re done” process, he said. As one of the project volunteers, he said taking the time with those who have questions or doubts is a key first step.
Desni said he will continue working as a volunteer after he graduates and hopes to raise awareness and get more shots in arms in counties including Wilson, Wayne and Edgecombe – all closer to him in the Greenville area. Volunteers will continue their work in Vance and spread out into Granville, Warren and Franklin as well.
According to DHHS COVID-19 dashboard data, Vance County has a 57 percent vaccination rate – well below the 70 percent herd immunity goal and below the overall state rate of 62 percent. The more urban counties of Wake, Durham and Orange all enjoy vaccination rates higher than 70 percent, so that’s one reason the Give It A Shot project shifted focus to counties outside the Triangle area.
At first, demand for vaccine exceeded supply. But that has shifted and now the challenge is not availability of the vaccine but having those unvaccinated individuals gaining access to clinics that have plenty of vaccines.
Some people who have interacted with Project Give It A Shot have said they didn’t know how to register to get a vaccine; others said they needed help finding a location. The support from the project volunteers has resulted in 945 vaccinated people, according to its website. And they’re not finished yet.
“Getting the remainder of our population to agree to getting the vaccine will require innovative thinking and building a sense of trust with a world of misinformation. That’s where we come in,” according to a written statement from Project Give It A Shot.
Want to learn more? Visit www.projectgiveitashot.com.
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