Camden Mayor, Nursing Students Go Door-To-Door To Get More Residents Vaccinated
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- In Camden County, nursing students and Camden's mayor are going door-to-door to get more people vaccinated. Instead of having patients come to them, nursing students went right to their patients. Their message: the time to vaccinate is now.
Camden's mayor pounded the pavement, using a megaphone to get out his message that everyone 12 years and up should get a COVID vaccine.
"The only way we fight against it is we get the shot," Mayor Victor Carstarphen said.
At the same time, nursing students from Rutgers University‒Camden went door-to-door offering vaccinations, as well as information to those who are unsure.
"I think the best way to approach that is to offer them bite-sized chunks of information that are easily understandable and that can hopefully persuade them," nursing student Kyle Jackson said about those who may be hesitant.
Among the unvaccinated is Dontay Benson, who has even lost family to COVID. But now, after hearing from those nursing students and the mayor, "I'm leaning toward it. I'm leaning toward it, yes sir," he said.
Officials say more than 70% of eligible people in Camden County are fully vaccinated. But in the city of Camden, that number stands at just under 50%.
"This is why we're getting out and knocking on doors. I want to hear the concerns, I want to hear the issues. Let's talk about these myths, as I call them, and let's try to bridge the gap on information," Carstarphen said.
Officials are urging unvaccinated people to get the shot because the Delta variant has doubled Camden County's COVID cases over the past week.
