Black-owned salons and barber shops are set to be turned into possible COVID vaccine sites, says Health officials.
City Health Officials and the National Association, as part of a White House initiative, has established a plan to help train Black-owned hair salons and barber shops to help provide accurate information and dish out vaccines where possible, along with providing information says Lori Tremmel Freeman, Chief Executive Officer of NACCHO.
On Wednesday the Biden Administration said they were teaming up with multiple organisations such as the Black Coalition Against COVID, the University of Maryland Centre for Health Equity, and the Shea Moisture company. The initiative is to be called โShots at the shopโ is to engage black-owned barbers and salons throughout America to promote vaccine education and have local outreach.
This could be an indicator as to why salons and barbers have been chosen to host these educational events, Freeman goes on “The role that NACCHO’s going to play is trying to match barber shops and beauty shops with local health departments, so that we can forge a relationship there and figure out if any of these business locations can also become vaccination sites or what it would take for that to happenโ.
For generations salons and barbers have been safe havens for African American people, especially in the time of segregation. They could gather in numbers feel safe in their community, and now decades later the safe space of feeling continues and discuss topics such as health and wellbeing.