Local leaders, vaccine liaisons to go door-to-door to educate people in hard-hit communities

CHELSEA, Mass. — There are so many questions from people in some of the hardest hit areas like Chelsea. One person asked if there was actually a chip in the vaccine so ICE could track them down. It was questions like that, and many more, that has a team of doctors and vaccine liaisons going door-to-door to help educate the public.

Boston 25 news drove up and down the streets of Chelsea, where thousands of people are still left without work because of the pandemic.

Chelsea is a city filled with many people from central America who are essential workers in the service industry.

“Does the COVID vaccine have a chip where ICE @ICEgov will find me?”

Those are some of the questions being asked in hard hit communities. @boston25 pic.twitter.com/uRV6m54jBV
— Malini Basu (@MaliniBasu_) February 18, 2021

“There are so many people in Chelsea who have not been to a doctor in the 15 or 20 years they are in this country,” said Dr. Julia Koehler, an infectious disease doctor in the Boston area.

Koehler will be volunteering her time by going door-to-door with a vaccine liaison and educating the public about the vaccine.

“People are afraid, that’s why they ask questions,” said Koehler.

Questions like “What are the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine to “Is there a chip in the vaccine so that ICE can find me quickly,” said Koehler.

The fear is even greater in the immigrant population.

“Were the vaccines made from cells of an aborted fetus?” said Koehler.

On Wednesday, the state said it would continue to provide vaccine doses to 20 cities and towns that are hardest hit with COVID-19. There will also be community liaisons whose only job is to help educate the public about the coronavirus vaccine.

“Before the pandemic, and through the pandemic, I’ve seen the real devastation,” said Dr. Sudhakar Nuti, a primary care physician.

Nuti treated some of the sickest patients in the Chelsea area.

Despite his busy call schedule, he’s also making sure to volunteer his time and educate people in Chelsea.

“Their physical health, their mental health, it’s been tough, loss of life, and jobs,” said Nuti.

Nuti said he was even scared at first. But he did it, and he wants people to know that it’s OK to get vaccinated. And, for so many in the red zone areas who haven’t been to the doctor, it’s OK, the shot will be free, and there are people here to help.

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