COVID-19 Door To Door Campaign Underway In Battle Creek

President Joe Biden recently raised a lot of eyebrows when he said the government would be sending people door to door to check on your vaccination status and urge you to get vaccinated if your not.

Some reacted with surprise. Others with a bit of indignation.  But the President could have said it's already happening in Michigan's Calhoun County.

There’s a group of volunteers going door to door in targeted neighborhoods doing just what the President said he’d be ordering. They’re knocking on doors, asking residents about vaccination, and recommending those who are not to get vaccinated against COVD-19.

They’re called “Calhoun County Vaccine Ambassadors”.  Some will be paid $15.00 an hour through a state vaccine promotion group to survey selected areas and do all they can to convince people they need to be vaccinated. Already, some of the volunteers have gotten earfuls from those who don’t want anything to do with it.

But the County Public Health Department is forging ahead with the program as it works to convince more people that vaccination against the virus is the community-minded thing to do, along with bolstering personal health factors.

The Calhoun County Health Department is working with the Protect Michigan Commission which is an outreach arm of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.  The Commission web page indicates, “The commission will work to protect the health and safety of Michigan residents by educating communities about the effectiveness of an authorized COVID-19 vaccine to eradicate the spread of the coronavirus. To achieve this, the bi-partisan Commission will develop an outreach strategy to identify and work with communities around the state where there is hesitancy to the vaccine.”

So far, just under 50% of the residents in Calhoun County are considered fully vaccinated.