WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — Communities around the Triangle are working to get vaccination rates up.

Wake County is taking efforts door-to-door with their COVID-19 canvassing team. The county uses the most recent Census data to track neighborhoods with low vaccination rates.

What You Need To Know

  • Only 10% of people vaccinated with one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in North Carolina are Hispanic

  • The Wake County Public Health department is partnering with several organizations to bring the vaccine right to people’s front doors

  • The canvassing team is out daily in neighborhoods with the lowest vaccination rates in Wake County

Team leader Sojeit Llanes and a group of volunteers assemble daily to knock on doors in marginalized communities offering the COVID-19 vaccine, vaccine information and testing kits.

“One of the things I do try to ask people is if they have any questions, comments regarding the vaccine and try to see if they have any feedback on the process that we are all doing,” said Llanes.

The Wake County Public Health Department partnered with Southwestern Healthcare of N.C., El Centro Hispano and clinical personnel from WakeMed Physician Practices in order to vaccinate people right in the comfort of their own homes.

If a resident is eligible and wants the vaccine at that time, Dr. Nerissa Price from WakeMed is on standby to administer the Pfizer vaccine. If it is their first dose, information is provided on where they can receive their second dose or when the team plans to be out in their neighborhood again.

“It’s turning out to be very positive for a lot of people who had some real barriers to getting the vaccine,” psychiatrist Nerissa Price said.

Llanes is bilingual which allows her to connect with residents in Hispanic communities.

“We know that people, for example who only speak Spanish, may get misinformed and don’t know much about it [COVID-19 vaccine] or need more information which is why it’s important to have bilingual people come out and talk about it, or educate them,” Llanes said.

Out of the total number of people vaccinated with at least one dose of the vaccine in North Carolina, only 10% are Hispanic, according to the Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 dashboard.

The free testing kits handed out include instructions in English and Spanish.

Llanes, who originally began working as a contact tracer in April of 2020, says she knows her work is making a difference in the community.

“Just being able to talk to that one person, it makes a huge difference. It’s the small things that make a big impact. That’s my philosophy,” Llanes said.