LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Gov. Andy Beshear returned to Louisville's Broadbent Arena on Friday morning to talk about equity as it relates to COVID-19 vaccinations.
There was an international focus as 100 representatives of Louisville's immigrant community were vaccinated.
The Louisville Metro Public Health Department said it's important for minority groups to feel welcome and comfortable when getting the vaccine, which is why translation services have been made available on-site. It's all part of a larger effort to increase confidence in the vaccine, particularly among people of color. That and increased accessibility are the goals the state has for opening over 150 new vaccination sites, along with some pop-up clinics.
Those new sites were announced Thursday.
Beshear said even with all of those sites, more still needs to be done to help minority communities — such as those in west Louisville — gain easy access to the shot.
"We also know the color of your skin or the size of your bank account should never matter when it comes to being able to get an appointment for one of these vaccines," Beshear said. "We have a historic obligation to meet this moment. Let's make sure we meet it in a way that doesn't continue injustices that we've seen for far too long."
Even if the doses were available for anyone who wanted it, local officials said minority communities are more likely to be hesitant to get vaccinated.
"Since day one of the pandemic, targeted efforts to reach immigrant and refugee populations have been a priority for the Office of Globalization," said Sabeen Nasim, director of the Louisville Metro Government Office of Globalization.
Nasim said the office is working to minimize access barriers to information by providing COVID-19 data and information in multiple languages. On Friday, four immigrant community leaders publicly received their first dose of the vaccine.
Paty Bautista was among those to be vaccinated. Bautista is originally from Mexico City and now works as a community liaison in health promotion at La Casita Center in Louisville.
"I think it's through working together in the community we can overcome this pandemic, and this is our best opportunity to do it," Bautista said.
Also vaccinated was Kevin Uysienga, a Rwanda native who is now the assistant pastor of Buechel United Methodist Church.
"This is one of the greatest opportunities for us to have this vaccination, so we want to be taking advantage of this just for the sake of our health and for the loved ones," Uysienga said. "Let's take advantage of this COVID-19 vaccine. It's the greatest miracle. Come on and get this vaccine"
Officials are also asking more people of color to sign up to volunteer at vaccination sites like Broadbent Arena. Volunteers who log at least 40 hours of time become eligible to be vaccinated.
Beshear said he's working on getting a site set up at Shawnee Park but said he's waiting on another supply increase from the federal government.
As of Friday, health officials say 28,642 people in the community are fully vaccinated.
Louisville is still in Phase 1B, which includes K-12 educators, first responders and people who are at least 70 years old.
Operations at Broadbent Arena have been getting increasingly more efficient, and officials hope to open up the next tier soon.
To learn how to schedule a vaccine in Kentucky and Indiana, click here. To sign up to volunteer in Louisville, click here.
Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
