Ashland County鈥檚 new mobile clinic looks just like a doctor鈥檚 office.
A handwashing station, refrigerator to store vaccines and exam table are all neatly tucked inside the big white van.
鈥淲e will have our patients sit here,鈥� said Jenna Gerwig, the director of nursing for the Ashland County Health Department, pointing to an empty chair.
It鈥檚 where patients can get a blood pressure reading, a cholesterol test, weight check鈥r a COVID shot.
鈥淥f course, we do encourage the COVID vaccine always,鈥� Gerwig said, 鈥渂ut that will not be the only vaccine we will be providing on the unit.鈥�
This van was purchased using leftover COVID-19 relief funds. When the health department requested the money, it emphasized to host COVID testing and vaccination clinics.
But now that the van is in hand, that鈥檚 not necessarily how the health department is presenting it to the community.
鈥淓ven if you do not want immunizations, there are still other services we can provide with a mobile clinic,鈥� Gerwig said. 鈥淪o either way, check us out.鈥�
That鈥檚 because a lot of people here aren鈥檛 interested in the COVID vaccine.
Vaccine hesitancy in Ashland County
Ashland County, located partway between Columbus and Cleveland, has some of the lowest COVID vaccination rates in the state.
of people there have gotten the shot, according to the Ohio Department of Health. In the county鈥檚 more remote villages, like Polk and Nova, which have large Amish populations, a local news outlet reports have gotten the vaccination.
And Gerwig says the rates aren鈥檛 just low for COVID vaccines.
鈥淎ll of our immunization rates in Ashland County are lower than we would like them to be,鈥� Gerwig said, 鈥淐OVID and every immunization across the board.鈥�
Gerwig says there are a few reasons for the hesitancy about vaccines, particularly the COVID shot.
For one, Ashland County is and .
鈥淪ome people don鈥檛 like vaccines, don鈥檛 want them, don鈥檛 believe in them and that鈥檚 their prerogative,鈥� she said. 鈥淎bsolutely.鈥�
Second, Ashland County is home to more than
鈥淲ith the Amish population, they don鈥檛 typically go to the doctor for preventative care,鈥� said Community Health Educator Jill Hartson. .
But there鈥檚 a sliver of the unvaccinated population in Ashland County that the Health Department hopes it can reach with the mobile clinic 鈥� the people who want the COVID vaccine, but don鈥檛 have the transportation to get it.
U.S. Census data shows about in the area don鈥檛 own a vehicle.
鈥淭his way, if access is an issue, we are hoping to eliminate that barrier,鈥� Gerwig said.
The latest COVID guidance
Three years since the pandemic began, Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, says breaking those barriers is still worthwhile.
鈥淭he reality is that and it is still causing a significant number of hospitalizations,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s we head into the fall, we really don't know exactly what we will be seeing from the virus. So, there really couldn't be a better time for people to get themselves prepared to face whatever COVID-19 has to throw at us.鈥�
Dr. Vanderhoff says multiple confirm that hybrid immunity 鈥� that鈥檚 having immunity from a prior COVID infection and a vaccine 鈥� is the most protective.
He recommends people get the updated booster which was released last fall. Only of Ohio鈥檚 population has.
A to people 65 and older and those who are immunocompromised.
It鈥檚 these vaccines and others, Dr. Vanderhoff says, that protect us against new outbreaks 鈥� whether of COVID or the measles.
鈥淲ithout vaccination, we all remain vulnerable to a whole variety of illnesses that most of us think of nowadays as part of the past,鈥� he said.
Back in the present, Gerwig is getting ready to roll out the mobile clinic.
It鈥檒l offer the updated COVID vaccines, but also a host of other preventive health services that Gerwig says are just as important, from blood pressure checks to finger stick tests.
With nearly a dozen events on the calendar, the mobile unit鈥檚 summer schedule is packed with appearances at churches, farmers markets and back-to-school events.
It remains to be seen if the van will be packed too.