LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Renee Yates was a labor and delivery nurse for 27 years. Now she serves as a manager at Women's Health Services at Clark Memorial. This past year, she has seen the impacts of COVID-19 first-hand.
Yates' church, Newburg Apostolic Church, has been closed since March 2020 due to COVID-19, but she found a way to bring the information she learned in the hospital to her church community through Zoom.
"What I do is just bring it to them. I remind them that you have COVID, and you have the vaccine. And you make the decision based on what you know," Yates said.
When Yates first started speaking to her church, interest in the vaccine was non-existent. A member said something that shocked Yates.
"She said 'You are the only person I know who is getting the vaccine', and my mouth kind of dropped open," Yates said.
Before hearing Yates educate the community on receiving the vaccine, Paula McClellon was not going to get the vaccine. But now, her answer is different.
"It helped me make a more informed decision," said McClellon.
She said hearing Yates' experience and honesty about the process changed her perspective.
"The more positive things I heard about the vaccination, the more inclined I was to take it," McClellon said.
As of right now, Black and white communities are not being vaccinated at the same rate. As of Feb 22, a little more than 20,623 Black Kentuckians have been vaccinated, compared to more than 404,828 white Kentuckians.
In Indiana, the data reflect the same story. As of today, Black people make up about 4.3% of total vaccinations statewide, compared to 86.6% of vaccine recipients who are white.
Both Yates and McClellon don't think it is a lack of availability or a lack of education.
"Its apprehension," said McClellon.
Yates said the availability of the vaccine is not the issue. She said there is just distrust in the vaccine within the Black community. But she said education and seeing faith leaders receive the vaccine will have a huge influence as well.
Each person in the congregation at Yates church knows someone who has died from COVID-19. Yates said as long as she can continue to educate those closest to her, and answer any questions they have, she will be happy. Her method is working.
"To go from hearing nobody, to each week I hear of somebody else who has decided to get the vaccine. Everyone that I can hit, every week, I feel like that is a plus," said Yates.