Why is Genesee County In Bottom of Michigan Vaccination Rates

Flint, and Genesee County remain one of the lowest vaccinated areas in Michigan according to the GCHD.

The news about high rates of vaccine hesitancy in Genesee County come from a recent survey done by the Protect Michigan Commission. They used the survey to get a gauge of how willing people in our area are to get vaccinated. The study showed that Genesee County, and stretching into the thumb have some of the highest vaccine hesitancy rates in the state.

Get our free mobile app

Numbers don't lie

The commission released their survey findings this week, and they line up with the vaccination rates in Michigan. 70% of Michiganders have at least started the process of getting vaccinated. Genesee County only has a vaccinated rate of about 30%. That's a pretty big contrast between our area and the rest of the state.

Why are the vaccination rates so low?

That's the million dollar question right now. The reasons that someone does not want to get vaccinated can vary greatly. The problem is that some people don't want to believe information coming from mass media, so that creates a problem for officials at the GCHD. Kayleigh Blaney works with the GCHD, and talked about how more intimate conversations can be a key tool to helping understand the problem.

You can talk to one individual and you can start to unpack where is that vaccine hesitancy rooted in

So what is happening to help raise the vaccination rate?

The GCHD has announced that they are going to make a big push in the coming weeks to increase vaccination rates in our area. The specific steps of the plan were not discussed, but it sounds like knocking on doors will be a major part of the initiative.

I don't know if the efforts will be extremely successful, but the GCHD are definitely getting one thing right. Realizing that you have to do more than just tell people to get the vaccine is very important. Everyone with vaccine hesitancy has legitimate concerns about getting vaccinated, and sometimes a one on one conversation can help to ease any fears. It also allows people to talk about the vaccine without it turning into an online screaming match full of rude, ignorant, and insulting comments.

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.