By Caitlyn Freeman
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Baltimore County will begin a public education campaign to convince people of color that the coronavirus vaccine is safe to take, county officials announced today.
The radio spots and digital advertisements will feature local celebrities who are trusted in Black and brown communities, officials said, including Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, Orioles centerfielder Cedric Mullins, and Blast goalkeeper William Vanzela.
The men and women basketball coaches at Towson University, Pat Kerry and Diane Richardson, will also be involved.
The education campaign is needed, officials said, because African Americans and Latinos are not registering for the coronavirus vaccine at the same rate as whites.
The media blitz, titled “Healing Starts Here,” was announced during a press conference today by County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr., and Gregory Branch, the director of county Health and Human Services. The campaign will target Black and brown communities as well as those in vulnerable neighborhoods.
“(Only) 13% of those currently on Baltimore County’s vaccine registry are Black, while nearly 30% of our population is Black,” Olszewski said. “And only 1.3% have identified as Hispanic or Latinx, despite making up approximately 5% of the county population. We need to address these disparities if we are going to bring this pandemic to an end.”
Olszewski said the spokespeople will use their presence to expand the campaign’s reach. He said the campaign will be data-driven and focused on those specifically underrepresented on the county’s vaccine registry.
“We want people to know that getting the vaccine protects them and their loved ones, and gets us one step closer to returning to our normal way of life,” Olszewski said. “We want to provide accurate information from respected voices so that our residents can feel comfortable and confident that the vaccine is safe.”
Branch said that other counties within the state see Baltimore County as “…the gold standard” in terms of vaccine distribution and are trying to replicate the mass vaccine distribution site at the Maryland State Fairgrounds.
“This campaign will drive more people into getting the vaccine,” Branch said. “And once we have more people vaccinated, healing will begin because ‘Healing Starts Here.’ I’m especially concerned about our Black and brown communities.”
Councilman Israel Patoka, D-2nd District, said in an interview that the county needs to get “…as many people as (they) possibly can vaccinated if we’re going to defeat this deadly virus.”
He went on to say that within his district, which includes Pikesville and Reisterstown, his office is working within marginalized communities with faith-based institutions on issues such as food distribution.
Patoka said his staff “is the only council team that has diversity in its staff,” adding that “we are well equipped to work in marginalized communities.”