LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The push for more people and minority groups like Asian American and Pacific Islanders to register for a COVID-19 vaccination is increasing.
"Get facts out and let them know the benefits to risk ratio and let them decided," University of Louisville School of Medicine Dr. Jun Yan said.
Dr. Yan and his team has been studying the vaccine for over a year and found a new subset of immune cells in hospitalized patients after the vaccine was administered.
This week in Kentucky nearly 30,000 people in the AAPI community received the vaccine. In Jefferson County, data shows that 86% of individuals in the AAPI community have been vaccinated.
However, there are still challenges when it comes to the vaccine.
"Due to language barriers or other difficulties they don't know all these facts. There is a lot of miss information out there," Dr. Yan said. "So, that's why a lot of people are hesitating or refuse to receive the vaccine."
Louisville Metro Health is working to bridge the gap by working with community partners to host listening sessions about vaccine and COVID-19 education.
Additionally, officials are looking to give trusted resources to residents who have yet to register for an appointment. They are also offering translated education material and services for community members.
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