26-year-old starts program at Harvard Medical School to educate Black communities on vaccines

BOSTON — A Harvard Medical School student recently launched a non-profit organization that is ‘Positively Massachusetts.’ It’s a grassroots campaign that provides information and education about COVID-19 vaccines in Black neighborhoods.

The group got its start in Boston.

LaShyra Nolen is out talking to a lot of people and spreading the word about vaccinations. The 26-year-old is a second-year medical student and the first Black woman to serve as student council president in the history of Harvard Medical School. She recently started the project after realizing her own family had so many questions and was nervous about the COVID-19 vaccines.

“I think We Got Us is extremely powerful because it is a way of us coming together as a community and really seeing ourselves out of these challenging times,” Nolen said.

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We Got Us is a group of Black medical students, health care professionals and community members that canvasses Boston’s Black neighborhoods. They’re providing education about COVID-19 vaccines by addressing and answering questions and empowering them to make informed health care decisions.

“You have some folks who simply don’t want to get the vaccine, and I think that’s ok because every person deserves to make their own decision. But I just want to make sure that folks are making that decision even after having all the information they need. I don’t want folks to say forgo the vaccine because they didn’t have the tools and all the information to make that decision,” Nolen said.

We Got Us also holds virtual empowerment sessions.

The group wants to work far beyond the pandemic. We Got Us is looking to empower the Black community on a range of topics, including colon cancer, diabetes and maternal mortality.

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