A new community effort to promote the COVID-19 vaccination process got a seal of approval from the Highlands Board of Commissioners on Thursday night.
The Community Immunity Project’s goal is to work with employers in Highlands and Cashiers to get employees vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“Our first goal with the COVID-19 vaccination clinics was to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible based on the state’s schedule,” Robin Austin, a volunteer with the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau Vaccination Initiative, said. “We are thrilled that we were able to get 10,000 shots in arms over the past three months. Now that vaccinations are available to all people over the age of 18 we are looking at a new way to get people involved.”
Austin explained that Macon County’s overall COVID-19 vaccination rate is at 30 percent and Jackson County’s rate is 23 percent. She added that researchers and scientists have set the mark of 75 percent vaccination rate as the target to reach herd immunity.
“People age 65 and older have done a really good job of getting vaccinated, but we are really struggling with younger people,” Austin said. “Ages 26-49, what most of us consider working age adults, are only 20 percent vaccinated in Macon County.”
As a way to reach more working adults, and to incentivize taking the COVID-19 vaccine, the Community Immunity Project is working with business owners to set up clinics at their respective businesses or schedule times when employees can be vaccinated off-site.
Once a business has all of its employees vaccinated, that business will receive a decal to put on their door informing the public of its 100 percent vaccination rate.
“We have several businesses in Highlands and Cashiers who already have a 100 percent vaccination rate and many others who are close,” Austin said. “We want to showcase them and make it clear to their potential customers that they have done all they can to protect their employees and the general public.”
Austin added that April and May are critical months for Highlands and Cashiers if the communities hope to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“Pretty soon there is going to be an influx of visitors to our communities,” Austin said. “And many of them are going to be coming from states where the vaccine rollout has been poorly managed or poorly received. Some states simply haven’t taken COVID-19 as serious as others, for whatever reason, including some states near us where we attract a lot of visitors. We need to have as many of our people vaccinated as possible.”
Mayor Patrick Taylor asked Austin what reasons people have expressed for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
“From what I’ve been hearing it’s a wide array of things,” commissioner Brian Stiehler said. “Everything from the conspiracy theory that the government is putting microchips in people, to the fact that it’s a new vaccine and people don’t trust it. I think some people are honestly just not scared of COVID-19 and they don’t think they need to be vaccinated.”
Austin noted that the three Rotary Clubs in Highlands and Cashiers are supporting the Community Immunity Program and asked the town for its endorsement, which was granted by unanimous vote.
Commissioner Marc Hehn asked how many town employees have received the COVID-19 vaccine. Town manager Josh Ward answered that roughly 25 percent of town employees are fully vaccinated.
“We have to get our local doctors on board and help inform people because they believe in the vaccine and they believe in what we are doing in terms of the vaccination program,” Hehn said. “Education is a big part of getting people vaccinated who may otherwise not take part.”
Highlands-Cashiers Plateau Vaccination Initiative volunteer Jerry Moore agreed and noted that the Community Immunity Project is not meant to force anyone into taking a vaccine, but is meant to recognize businesses whose employees are fully vaccinated.
“We want to educate people and encourage them to be vaccinated, but we aren’t out to shame anyone,” Moore said. “We want to be positive and helpful because we think that will bring more people in.”