With an eye toward 70% of U.S. adults receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by July 4, President Joe Biden on Wednesday …
With an eye toward 70% of U.S. adults receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose by July 4, President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a monthlong effort to encourage more Americans to roll up their sleeves for a shot. “The more people we get vaccinated, the more success we’re going to have in the fight against this virus,” he said during remarks at the White House, adding that the U.S. could see a dramatically different summer from last year. “A summer of freedom. A summer of joy. A summer of get-togethers and celebrations.” As part of his June “month of action,” Biden announced “Shots at the Shop,” an initiative bringing together 1,000 Black-owned barbershops and beauty salons across the nation to serve as vaccination locations. The effort will be modeled after Health Advocates In-Reach and Research (HAIR), said program founder Stephen Thomas, director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Health Equity. Along with the center, the administration will collaborate with the Black Coalition Against COVID and SheaMoisture to support the effort in communities of color, hard hit by disproportionate COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. The announcement comes two weeks after USA TODAY’s reporting on HAIR and its vaccination effort at The Shop Spa in Hyattsville, Maryland. With vaccination rates in communities of color lagging in many states, the network is combating vaccine hesitancy and access obstacles by offering shots right at the shops.
