ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Monroe County announced a COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force in an effort to educate the public about the importance of getting the vaccine.

This week, the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are being given to local health care workers who are at direct risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities and other long-term care settings will also be at the front of the line.

What You Need To Know

  • Monroe County announced a COVID-19 vaccination task force to educate the public about the vaccine

  • The task force will be led by Dr. Nancy Bennett, a URMC professor and Wade Norwood, CEO of Common Ground Health

  • The goal of the task force is to listen and to address concerns from the community

"We are still a few months away from wider distribution to the community,” Monroe County Executive Adam Bello (D) said.

The medical community says the tough task ahead will be trying to vaccinate an entire population over the next six months.

That's why Monroe County announced the task force in an effort to answer the many questions surrounding the safety of the vaccine.

It will be led by Dr. Nancy Bennett, a professor at URMC and a former health department employee.

"The most important issue here is transparency. I think that we need to share everything we know about the vaccine. We need to share everything we don't know about this vaccine,” said Bennett.

Wade Norwood, CEO of Common Ground Health, will also lead a public education campaign to promote the vaccine.

"If God and science have embraced us with a vaccine, how do we use our hearts and our heads to make sure that vaccine is available equitably to everyone and that we all take advantage of it so that we can still be here next year,” said Norwood.

It will be sometime next year before the general public has access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Details are still being worked out on when and how many of the vaccines will be distributed.

"So while we don't have all of those numbers yet, know that we will communicate when we have those numbers and we'll want to make sure everybody is well informed in advance of when it's their turn about when they can anticipate getting their own vaccine,” said Monroe County Public Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza.

Until then, the community is asked to continue to follow the state guidelines with mask-wearing and physical distancing.

"We are all part of this initiative. We are all part of the solution to ending the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Bello.