BEAUMONT, Texas — There are currently 25 patients in Jefferson County hospitals battling the virus. One patient is in the ICU, and three people have died from the virus.
A Southeast Texas coalition says three areas in Jefferson County have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the state.
77701, 77705, and 77703 are the three zip codes that share one thing in common. They have the lowest vaccination rate in the state of Texas.
“That community is near and dear to my heart,” said Mary Scott.
For some, community means everything. This is why Scott was intentional about honing in on zip code 77703.
“My church is in 03. And so, through the years I have realized that community is typically underserved and overlooked,” Scott said.
And it was no different when vaccines rolled out.
“So, I knew when COVID Hit that they would be last on the list to receive anything. And so, I took it upon myself to get involved in work with that community,” Scott said.
She works with the Southeast Texas Faith and Community Leaders' Coalition as the 77703 coordinator.
“They've been on the bottom rung of getting the vaccine having access to the vaccine, and they're still down at the bottom,” Scott said.
Zip code 77703 is the lowest vaccinated zip code with only 34% of that population vaccinated.
Zipcodes 77701 and 77705 are right behind 03 with a 45% vaccination rate.
The percentage rates and neighborhoods didn't come as a surprise for Dr. Mosonthi Levine.
“It doesn't not necessarily surprise, we know that those pockets exist. And we've planned for that, and we understand that that's an issue with vaccine rollout,” Levine said.
Scott and her team put forth an effort to tackle this issue through talks.
“We're going to conquer this is person to person,” Scott said.
Conversations that led to sleeves being rolled up and slowly but surely increasing the vaccination rate.
“So we've gone into the community and tried to get vaccine clinics within the community. Within walking distance,” Scott said.
There is still work to be done to continue to increase our local vaccination rates.
Scott and Levine are asking you to have a conversation with those who are still a little on the fence.